Taiwan's Government Unveils Massive NT$410 Billion Bill to Counter US Tariffs and Bolster Resilience

Premier Cho Jung-tai's Initiative Aims to Shield Economy and Strengthen National Security

In a move to fortify its economy and enhance national security, Taiwan's Cabinet, under Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), has proposed a substantial NT$410 billion (US$12.63 billion) special bill. This initiative is primarily designed to mitigate the potential impacts of the US tariffs and to bolster Taiwan's resilience in the face of international developments.

Premier Cho Jung-tai met with lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties to garner support for the bill. The funding for this extensive package will be drawn from budget surpluses accumulated in previous years, ensuring that the government's debt will not increase through additional borrowing, as confirmed by Cho.

The allocation of funds is multifaceted. A significant NT$93 billion will be dedicated to industry and employment support, a further NT$150 billion will be channeled towards improving national security resilience, and NT$167 billion will be allocated for social welfare initiatives. The social welfare measures include subsidies to offset electricity costs and injections into insurance funds, according to Cho.

The support for industries will include NT$12 billion in interest subsidies for trade financing, NT$5 billion for expanding small business loan guarantees, and an additional NT$25 billion for research-and-development grants for businesses, as detailed by Cho.

The national security component of the budget will finance the construction of new patrol vessels to counter Chinese maritime activities, establish new storage and backup facilities for essential supplies, and upgrade Taiwan’s cybersecurity defenses. Furthermore, a budget of NT$100 billion will be set aside to subsidize electricity costs absorbed by state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) over the past three years, Cho said.

However, the proposal has already sparked debate among political factions. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) expressed support for the measures against US tariffs but raised concerns about the limited portion of the funding directly linked to trade measures. Fu suggested that the subsidies for Taipower could be proposed separately. KMT caucus secretary-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) questioned the considerable expansion of the act's budget, suggesting that industry assistance growth was disproportionately small compared to the overall increase.

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) voiced his party's full support for financial assistance to businesses and workers but criticized the government for lacking a detailed impact assessment. Deputy caucus convener Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) argued that the budget contravened fiscal discipline by including unrelated projects in an urgent bill.

Premier Cho Jung-tai has emphasized the government's commitment to negotiating with the US to secure tariff rates comparable to those imposed on competitor countries, while simultaneously safeguarding Taiwan's industrial competitiveness and consumer habits. Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) expressed the party's full support for the special budget, underscoring its importance for the public good, industry, and Taiwan's protection.