Taiwan’s exports to Mexico surged to a record level as tech companies moved production out of China, but the trade now faces uncertainty following US threats of higher tariffs on its neighbor.
Taiwanese exports to Mexico jumped 479 percent last month from a year earlier to reach US$2.7 billion, official data showed. This is mainly driven by shipments of graphic processing units, a key components of artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
The Ministry of Finance in a statement on Friday said the surge was largely due to supply chain shifts, as companies like Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) — also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) — and Wistron Corp (緯創) have been building factories in Mexico to assemble AI servers destined for the US.
Photo: CNA
The trade now seems at risk after US President Donald Trump announced late last month that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada. The decision was later delayed for 30 days after last-minute negotiations, but the threats have caused stock prices of Taiwanese tech companies to plunge.
Last month, Trump also announced plans to impose 100 percent tariffs on computer chips from Taiwan. Minister of Economic Affair J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) on Saturday said that a group of officials would travel to the US to meet with Trump administration officials to try and stop the tariffs from being implemented.
In addition, Taiwan is preparing to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US to reduce its trade surplus and potentially avoid higher tariffs.
State-owned CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and the ministry are in negotiations with an Alaska-based export plant for supplies, state-run Central News Agency reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified ministry official.
Trump on Friday said Japan would buy a record volume of US LNG, following a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House.
Last year, Taiwan imported about 10 percent of its LNG from the US, with most shipments arriving from Australia and Qatar under long-term supply contracts, official data showed.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS