US agriculture official visits Taiwan amid tariff talks

TAIPEI (Reuters) -A senior U.S. Department of Agriculture official is visiting Taiwan this week, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei said on Monday, amid ongoing tariff talks with Washington.

Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer, runs a large trade surplus with the United States. The island's exports to the United States are currently subject to a 20% tariff.

In a statement, the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles the unofficial relationship between Washington and Taipei, said Luke J. Lindberg, Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is visiting Taiwan from Monday to Wednesday.

Lindberg will take part in the Agribusiness Trade Mission, meet with executives from the U.S. Meat Export Federation and Taiwan's meat industry, and lead a roundtable discussion with U.S. agricultural representatives, it added.

In a separate statement earlier on Monday about U.S. tariff talks, Taiwan's Office of Trade Negotiations said "both sides continue to actively engage in consultations on economic and trade issues, including reciprocal tariffs".

Further details will be provided in due course, it said, without elaborating.

Taiwan's government said earlier this month that it hoped for a more favourable tariff rate from the United States after talks achieved "certain progress".

(Reporting by Ben BlanchardEditing by Ros Russell)