Taiwan will cut tariffs on more than...

Taiwan will cut tariffs on more than 3,500 foreign products this week as part of a five-year drive to reduce its trade surplus, according to a senior government official. The United States and Europe have threatened to curb imports from the island if such steps are not taken.

The government will soon open the local market wider and reduce tariffs, averaging about 50%, on more than 3,500 foreign products, said Augustine Wu, deputy director of the Board of Foreign Trade.

Under the five-year program, Taiwan’s total trade will reach $197.3 billion by 1992, when Wu said the trade surplus would be $8.7 billion.

Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States was slightly more than $16 billion in 1987. The island’s trade surplus with Europe was nearly $2.7 billion.

Wu said the new program called for Taiwan to reduce its trade surplus with the United States to $2.8 billion in 1992, when the surplus with Europe would be $1.4 billion.