Taiwan’s Lai Floats Zero Tariffs on US Goods to Placate Trump

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said his government could eliminate duties on US products if Washington did the same, the latest overture from the self-run democracy as it seeks to placate its main military backer.

“While Taiwan already maintains low tariffs, with an average nominal rate of 6%, we are willing to further cut this rate to zero on the basis of reciprocity with the US,” Lai wrote in a piece for Bloomberg Opinion on Thursday.

By wiping out the last obstacles to fair trade, Lai wrote, “we seek to encourage greater trade and investment flows between our two economies.”

It’s ...