Taipei: Taiwan's Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun returned to Taiwan on Sunday following the signing of a significant U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement in Washington D.C. on Thursday (U.S. time). According to Focus Taiwan, Cheng refrained from speaking to the media upon her arrival at Taoyuan International Airport, merely expressing, "Thank you, happy New Year!" In a Facebook post later, she highlighted Taiwan's achievement in securing a 15 percent non-stacked tariff rate on exports to the United States, which she described as the most favorable treatment granted by Washington to countries with a trade deficit. Cheng further noted that Taiwan successfully obtained tariff exemptions for 2,072 export products. This development is expected to reduce the average tariff rate on Taiwanese goods exported to the United States to 12.33 percent. Reflecting on the negotiation process, Cheng mentioned that the team had fulfilled the task assigned by the president and the premier after 10 months of efforts. Cheng stated that foll owing the Lunar New Year holiday, under the guidance of Premier Cho Jung-tai, the government plans to promptly send the trade agreement texts, investment memorandum of understanding, and an overall impact assessment to the Legislature. She extended her gratitude to industry representatives, the public, and members of the negotiation team, including Minister without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni and the Office of Trade Negotiations, as well as officials from the National Security Council, for their contributions during the negotiations.