The German Trade Office Taipei yesterday pressed for closer trade ties with Taiwan, calling Taiwan a stable market and local firms reliable partners amid rising global uncertainty linked to US tariff challenges.
“In today’s uncertain global environment, companies value reliable partners and stable markets more than ever,” the trade office said in a report. “Taiwan is exactly such a market and we will continue fostering bilateral exchange and advancing Germany-Taiwan economic cooperation to new heights.”
The office last month conducted a survey to assess the impact of global political developments on business strategies, with a focus on the implications of the German federal election and the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House.
Photo: CNA
Most German businesses in Taiwan reported limited direct effects from the German election, and many expressed hope that the new government would strengthen economic and investment ties with Taiwan.
By contrast, US trade policies under Trump have raised concern, as more than 50 percent of companies said they expect a negative impact on their operations and more than 30 percent were considering supply chain adjustments, it said.
Another 25 percent plan to bolster cooperation with Taiwanese partners to diversify risk, the trade office said.
German Trade Office Taipei Chief Representative and Executive Director Eva Langerbeck said she observed strong interest from German companies in the Taiwanese market, especially in areas such as aerospace, energy, transportation and smart cities.
According to the Ministry of Finance, bilateral trade between Taiwan and Germany was US$5 billion in the first quarter of this year, a 2 percent increase year-on-year, the office said.
Taiwan’s main exports to Germany were information and communications technology, electronic parts, audio-video products, vehicles, aircraft and vessels, while Germany’s major imports to Taiwan included chemicals, vehicles, aircraft, vessels and electronic parts, it said.
Notably, imports of optical and precision instruments, clocks and watches saw a 55 percent year-on-year growth, reflecting the strong complementarity of Taiwan’s and Germany’s industrial structures, the office said.
Taiwan’s approved direct investment in Germany totaled nearly US$490 million last year, it said, adding that although the figure was lower than the record-breaking Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) project in 2023, it far exceeded historical averages, demonstrating growing interest from Taiwanese companies in the German market.
One of the highlights was Walsin Lihwa Corp’s (華新麗華) acquisition of a century-old German seamless stainless steel tube manufacturer, a sign of Taiwanese investment diversifying beyond semiconductors and into high-end manufacturing, the office said.
The office said it also facilitated five industry delegations from Germany to Taiwan last year, covering themes such as electric-mobility, two-wheelers, leisure and smart machinery.
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
TEMPORARY TRUCE: China has made concessions to ease rare earth trade controls, among others, while Washington holds fire on a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods China is effectively suspending implementation of additional export controls on rare earth metals and terminating investigations targeting US companies in the semiconductor supply chain, the White House announced. The White House on Saturday issued a fact sheet outlining some details of the trade pact agreed to earlier in the week by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that aimed to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Under the deal, China is to issue general licenses valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite “for the benefit of US end users and their suppliers
Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV’s China unit yesterday said that it had established sufficient inventories of finished goods and works-in-progress, and that its supply chain remained secure and stable after its parent halted wafer supplies. The Dutch company suspended supplies of wafers to its Chinese assembly plant a week ago, calling it “a direct consequence of the local management’s recent failure to comply with the agreed contractual payment terms,” Reuters reported on Friday last week. Its China unit called Nexperia’s suspension “unilateral” and “extremely irresponsible,” adding that the Dutch parent’s claim about contractual payment was “misleading and highly deceptive,” according to a statement
RSS