Taiwan helps technology firms pivot production towards Southeast Asia as US tariffs hit mainland
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Taiwan, home to many of the world’s leading electronics producers, is helping its manufacturers to expand beyond mainland China as increased US tariffs threaten the global technology supply chain.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on US$200 billion of mainland Chinese imports last week will have convinced any undecided Taiwanese companies of the need to shift some production away from the mainland, Kung Ming-hsin, Taiwanese minister-without-portfolio in charge of economic affairs, said on Tuesday. After Taiwan, according to Kung, Vietnam and India were the next two preferred destinations for Taiwanese electronics companies.
“Taiwanese companies may bring production of key, high-value components back home, but assembly and mass production of gadgets will go to Southeast Asia,” he said. “Southeast Asian countries know there’s an opportunity here.”
Technology companies from Apple to Dell Technologies have long relied on mainland China’s immense labour force and manufacturing prowess to churn out everything from iPhones to computers. Now, the threat of punitive American sanctions, accusations of hardware spying and the rise of Southeast Asian economies have encouraged industry players to consider shifting at least some of their output away from the world’s second-largest economy.
Taiwan has been the primary beneficiary of that shift. Since the beginning of the year, 52 Taiwanese companies have pledged to invest around US$9 billion on the island as part of a government programme to persuade its companies with facilities in mainland China to take production home.
