The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas.
The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and connect with local partners.
Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei Times
It said it would provide information and insights on target markets for Taiwanese companies that are mulling setting up factories in the US or relocating to Southeast Asia or India.
Additionally, the ministry said it would help businesses shift their attention to local demand, and provide legal guidance and assistance in finding local partners.
The ministry in a statement released on Sunday said that it would help firms deal with potential supply disruptions, after US President Donald Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from neighboring Canada and Mexico.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Taiwanese firms such as Hon Hai are integrated into the global electronics production chain by assembling servers and gadgets for most of the world’s biggest tech companies. Many Taiwanese companies also manufacture artificial intelligence (AI) servers or make parts for those devices in Mexico to be closer to the US market.
Foxconn last year said it was building the world’s largest assembly site for servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s GB200 chips in Mexico.
Other Taiwanese partners of Nvidia include Inventec Corp (英業達), which also operates plants in Mexico.
Foxconn shares fell 9.2 percent in Taipei, while Inventec shares slumped 8.5 percent — their biggest daily decline since August last year.
“We might organize delegations to attend SelectUSA events and help Taiwanese companies secure support from the local government when they increase their investments in the US to create a win-win business model for US and Taiwanese supply chains,” the ministry said in a texted statement late on Sunday.
Taiwan’s investments in Mexico would have reached US$4 billion by the end of this year, according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Mexico.
Taiwanese companies have employed about 70,000 people in the country since 1999.
After Trump’s election in November last year, Foxconn and Taiwanese peer Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) increased their investments in the US. Foxconn has secured land in California, Wisconsin and Texas, while Quanta’s board approved a US$230 million capital increase for its US unit.
More than 300 Taiwanese companies have factories in Mexico, government data show.
Additional reporting by Crystal Hsu
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
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
Artificial intelligence (AI) giant Nvidia Corp’s most advanced chips would be reserved for US companies and kept out of China and other countries, US President Donald Trump said. During an interview that aired on Sunday on CBS’ 60 Minutes program and in comments to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said only US customers should have access to the top-end Blackwell chips offered by Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization. “The most advanced, we will not let anybody have them other than the United States,” he told CBS, echoing remarks made earlier to reporters as he returned to Washington
RSS