Taiwan vowed on Friday to seek a lower tariff after Donald Trump imposed a "temporary" 20% levy on its shipments to the US.

The countries hit hardest by these new tariffs are Syria at 41%, Myanmar at 40%, and Laos also at 40%. Goods that have been transhipped (in this case, that means moved from a high tariff country to a low tariff one, to avoid extra charges) are subject to a blanket tariff of 40%.

Taiwan said its negotiators are drafting a joint statement with the US on their bilateral trade deal, appearing to make some long-awaited progress just a day ahead of Donald Trump’s tariff deadline.