Alphabet Inc’s Google is moving some production of Nest thermostats and server hardware out of China, avoiding US tariffs and an increasingly hostile government in Beijing, people familiar with the matter said.
Google has already shifted much of its production of US-bound motherboards to Taiwan, averting a 25 percent tariff, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.
While US officials have identified Chinese-made motherboards as a security risk, Google did not bring that up during discussions with its suppliers, they said.
Tariffs have also pushed US-bound production of its Nest devices to Taiwan and Malaysia, the people said.
The migration is taking place as foreign and domestic companies seek to pivot their production away from China amid US President Donald Trump’s efforts to reset the perimeters for global trade and manufacturing.
The Taiwanese contract manufacturers that make most of the world’s electronics, including Apple Inc partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), have since last year accelerated the shift at their clients’ behest.
Hon Hai on Tuesday said that it has enough capacity to make all iPhones bound for the US outside of China if necessary, although Apple has so far not asked for such a shift.
While Google’s production of hardware in China pales in comparison with the likes of Apple, its shift might herald a broader trend as tensions escalate.
The US search giant earns some advertising revenue from China and has explored avenues to court consumers and corporations in the world’s No. 2 economy — from sharing artificial intelligence tools to even a censored search service.
It is also lobbying Washington for permission to continue supplying Android to Huawei Technologies Co (華為), the Financial Times has reported.
It is widening its footprint elsewhere: Google in March announced it was creating a new campus in Taipei and expanding staff in the nation, although it is unclear whether this is related to its manufacturing diversification.
Among the Google hardware saddled with higher tariffs, server motherboards are among the most critical to its operations, as the company builds its own data centers.
Moreover, among major US tech companies that operate giant data centers, Google is keener than others to shift server motherboards out of China.
That is because it sometimes only procures the components, while its rivals tend to buy complete server racks from suppliers, one person said.
Motherboards are categorized as printed circuit board assembly, which face 25 percent tariffs if they are imported directly into the US, while server racks as a whole have not yet been affected.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,