Taiwan experts weigh in on industry prospects amid rising US pressures

TAIPEI -- Experts and scholars at a forum held in China's Taiwan region have expressed concern about uncertainties in the international landscape, including the threat of increased tariffs from the United States and a potential US-driven move to hollow out Taiwan's chip industry.

According to media reports, US President Donald Trump is pushing forward with a tariff plan, potentially from as early as April. This came against the backdrop that Taiwan's trade surplus with the United States reached a record high of $73.9 billion?in 2024, up 55 percent year on year.

At Wednesday's forum in Taipei, Taiwan University scholar Lin Chien-Fu noted that Taiwan's top five export categories to the United States could all be potential targets for US tariffs -- with artificial intelligence servers, machinery and auto parts bearing the highest risk.

Concerns also loom large for Taiwan's robust chip industry. Over the past few years, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's leading contract chipmaker, has been under pressure to increase its investments in the United States.

The company in early March 2025 announced plans to expand its investment in the United States by an additional $100 billion?-- to build three new wafer fabs, two packaging facilities and a R&D center.

Lin pointed out that if Washington forces TSMC to completely relocate its advanced manufacturing to the United States, Taiwan's technological edge will be undermined. One of the potential outcomes of such a relocation, namely the decline of supply chain efficiency, will also affect the stability of the global semiconductor market, he added.

Resonating with Lin's opinion, Wang Jiann-Chyuan, deputy head of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said if TSMC is handed over to the United States, it would hurt a string of related industries, including the real estate industry.

Regarding the issue, many media outlets and industrial experts in Taiwan have criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, led by Lai Ching-te, for sending Taiwan's whole semiconductor ecosystem to the United States in a package likely to damage Taiwan.

"Lai Ching-te is using TSMC as a cover for the inability of the DPP to respond to Trump's tariff policies," said an editorial by Taiwan-based United Daily News.

During the forum, attendees also analyzed the progress achieved by the Chinese mainland in science and technology, which they believe has created opportunities for Taiwan.

In Lin's view, Taiwan businesses should leverage the vast industrial system and well-developed industrial, supply and service chains of the mainland.

He added that Taiwan businesspeople on the mainland should optimize their business strategies -- focusing on promising investment destinations such as the mainland's western inland regions, which offer significant development potential.

Speaking at the forum, Leua Jang-Hwa, an expert with Taiwan's federation of industries, also expressed his view that the mainland's favorable policies for Taiwan businesspeople will help them further adapt to the local environment and become more integrated with the mainland.