The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院), one of the nation’s leading think tanks, yesterday said that more than half of local manufacturers have countermeasures to take on trade tensions between the US and China.
CIER cited a survey of domestic purchasing managers on the effects of the US-China trade dispute, which found that 54 percent have either adopted measures or plan to come up with them to assuage the effects from the trade dispute between the world’s top two economies.
About 96 percent of those that have policies to deal with the trade dispute said that they have or would adjust their operations or change their purchase/supply policies, 68.3 percent said that they have or would diversify their export markets, and 43 percent said that they have or would change their investments and relocate their plants or offices.
Orders fell in the first half of this year for 28.5 percent of manufacturers, while orders dropped in the second half for 44.8 percent of respondents, indicating that the effects of the trade dispute have increased, CIER said.
The survey echoed a forecast released by the think tank yesterday that the nation’s economy would grow 2.18 percent next year, shy of an expected 2.62 percent increase for this year, which the institute said showed that the global economy faces many risks and uncertainties next year, with the US-China trade dispute continuing to serve as a factor that could determine economic outlook.
About three-quarters, or 76 percent, of respondents said that the US-China trade dispute has been their top concern for their operations, ahead of foreign exchange fluctuations (56.3 percent) and raw material prices (51 percent).
Nearly two-thirds, or 61.6 percent, of the manufacturers surveyed have investments and operations in China, of which 66 percent said that they have or would come up with measures to deal with trade issues.
Of the local firms operating in China that have or would come up with such measures, 45.8 percent are considering relocating their investments, CIER said.
The top destinations for local firms looking to relocate are ASEAN members, Taiwan and the US, it said.
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