(Jan 10): Taiwan’s economic minister said the impact of Donald Trump and his policies will be limited because he can only serve a single term, rare frank comments that show how governments around the world are gaming out the president-elect’s return to office.

“Trump will only be in office for four years and can’t run for another term so his impact will be limited,” Economic Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said at a press briefing Friday in Taipei. He made the comments in response to a reporter’s question about negative things Trump has said about the wind power industry — a sector Taiwan’s government is keen to develop.

Trump cannot run again because US law limits presidents to two terms, regardless of whether they are consecutive, and he previously served from 2017-2021.

Officials in Taipei are somewhat nervous about Trump’s return to the White House because they rely on US military support to deter China from invading and their trade surplus with the US could make Taiwan a target for tariffs.

The Republican has suggested the archipelago “should pay” the US for its defence and cast doubt over whether the US would defend the self-governed democracy of 23 million from any Chinese attack, as President Joe Biden repeatedly pledged.

Also, in a July interview with Bloomberg Businessweek before the US election, Trump accused Taiwan of taking “about 100% of our chip business.”

In the briefing Friday, Kuo said the government in Taipei would support moving supply chains related to the automobile and information and communications technology industries to the US because they would be impacted the most of any sector in Taiwan by tariffs.

Earlier, Taiwan’s central bank suggested stepping up purchases of US energy, agricultural goods and military equipment — moves that could ward off Trump’s tariff threats.

Uploaded by Lam Seng Fatt