Taiwan only expects a small impact from any tariffs imposed by the incoming government of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on semiconductor exports given their technological superiority, Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said on Friday.

Taiwan anticipates minimal impact from U.S. tariffs on semiconductors due to technological superiority, according to Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei.

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.

The Chinese director of a firm whose vessel Taiwan suspects of having damaged an undersea communications cable said on Wednesday there was no evidence the ship was involved, an incident that has alarmed the government in Taipei.

In 2023, the outlying Matsu Islands, within view of the Chinese coast, endured patchy internet for months after two undersea internet cables broke. These fiber optic cables that connect Taiwan to the internet suffered about 30 such breaks between 2017 and 2023.