US thanks Taiwan for support for auto chips in key trade meeting

The United States thanked Taiwan on Friday for help on resolving an auto chip shortage that has snarled production, but there was no discussion on prioritising the making of these chips, Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua said after a high-level meeting.

Car factories around the world are shutting assembly lines because of the chip shortages, which in some cases have been exacerbated by the former US administration's actions against Chinese chip factories.

Taiwan, home to tech firms like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker, has become front and centre of efforts to resolve the shortage.

"The US side thanked us for on help on this," Wang told reporters of the meeting she was said was attended by senior executives from companies including TSMC and Qualcomm Inc.

But she said the focus of the talks was not on auto chips and the issue of whether to prioritise their production was not brought up.

The closed-door meeting, joined by the Taiwan minister and what she described as "very senior US officials", is the first announced high-level exchange between Taiwan and the Biden administration, which took office on Jan. 20.

The State Department said last week that Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy and Negotiations Matt Murray would take part.