US-Taiwan Trade Relations and Tariffs: Impacts on Supply Chains
18 April 2025 路 Uncategorized 路
In response to the announcement of tariffs up to 32% by President Trump鈥檚 administration, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) held a press conference reviewing Taiwanese imports and exports with the US for 2024. According to data from the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the MOEA, communication equipment products and electronic components were among Taiwan鈥檚 leading export categories.
Conversely, major imported goods included integrated circuits, mechanical parts, aircraft engine components, semiconductor manufacturing devices, crude oil, and liquefied natural gas. In 2024 alone, Taiwan maintained a trade surplus of $64.9 billion with the US; industrial product exports totaled $110.2 billion.
The top thirty export items accounted for 72.4% of total exports and primarily consisted of semiconductor-related goods such as automatic data processing units, storage devices, machine parts, integrated circuits, switches/routers, printed circuit boards, solid-state non-volatile memory devices, steel screws/bolts/nuts, among others.
While some semiconductor-related products were temporarily exempted from the 32% tariff, servers and networking equipment are also targeted. The top ten import categories鈥攅xcluding crude oil鈥攊ncluded integrated circuits, mechanical parts, aircraft engine components, semiconductor manufacturing tools, aviation/helicopter/unmanned aerial vehicle spare parts, liquefied natural gas, large passenger planes/other air vehicles, and semiconductor wafer and chip testing equipment.
The data reveals that Taiwan鈥檚 critical semiconductor industry relies heavily on US suppliers for machinery. Furthermore, the Taiwanese aircraft component production sector is relatively weak compared to its dependence on American support regarding crude oil and other raw materials, highlighting a significant complementary relationship between these trade partners.
Experts suggest that this mutual complementarity within supply chains indicates imposing 32% tariffs would severely disrupt the overall ecological balance of these industries.
The government stated it will closely monitor the situation while preparing for potential impacts by reviewing key import/export data from and to America, along with their respective tariff rates. They aim to minimize any adverse effects through continuous dialogue with American counterparts.
Conversely, major imported goods included integrated circuits, mechanical parts, aircraft engine components, semiconductor manufacturing devices, crude oil, and liquefied natural gas. In 2024 alone, Taiwan maintained a trade surplus of $64.9 billion with the US; industrial product exports totaled $110.2 billion.
The top thirty export items accounted for 72.4% of total exports and primarily consisted of semiconductor-related goods such as automatic data processing units, storage devices, machine parts, integrated circuits, switches/routers, printed circuit boards, solid-state non-volatile memory devices, steel screws/bolts/nuts, among others.
While some semiconductor-related products were temporarily exempted from the 32% tariff, servers and networking equipment are also targeted. The top ten import categories鈥攅xcluding crude oil鈥攊ncluded integrated circuits, mechanical parts, aircraft engine components, semiconductor manufacturing tools, aviation/helicopter/unmanned aerial vehicle spare parts, liquefied natural gas, large passenger planes/other air vehicles, and semiconductor wafer and chip testing equipment.
The data reveals that Taiwan鈥檚 critical semiconductor industry relies heavily on US suppliers for machinery. Furthermore, the Taiwanese aircraft component production sector is relatively weak compared to its dependence on American support regarding crude oil and other raw materials, highlighting a significant complementary relationship between these trade partners.
Experts suggest that this mutual complementarity within supply chains indicates imposing 32% tariffs would severely disrupt the overall ecological balance of these industries.
The government stated it will closely monitor the situation while preparing for potential impacts by reviewing key import/export data from and to America, along with their respective tariff rates. They aim to minimize any adverse effects through continuous dialogue with American counterparts.