TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday that the new 20% tariff rate set by the Trump administration on goods imported from the island is "temporary", and the government expects to negotiate a lower figure.

The new 20 percent tariff rate the US set on goods from Taiwan is “temporary,” and the government expects to negotiate a lower figure, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Tariff rates on semiconductors, electronics, and information and communications technology products are to be determined separately under forthcoming US sectoral measures.

Taiwan, which is set to face a 20% tariff following President Trump’s executive order, plans to keep negotiating and aims to bring down the rate. The 20% rate, while lower than the current 32%, wasn’t Taiwan’s goal,

President Trump’s announcement on Thursday of a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the United States comes when ties between Taipei and Washington are already particularly strained.

The United States has imposed a 20% tariff on most goods from Taiwan, effective next week. The rate is lower than the 32% announced in April but remains higher than the 15% set for Japan and South Korea.