Concerns over potential 32% US tariffs on Taiwanese exports, proposed by US President Donald Trump, overshadowed the Computex Taipei tech expo held from May 20-23, 2025.

The event featured 1,400 exhibitors, including Acer and Kye Systems, showcasing AI-enabled laptops and advanced microprocessors.

Many exhibitors expressed unease about the impact of increased tariffs on PCs and peripherals.

Kye Systems has opted not to enter the US market due to uncertainty, focusing instead on Latin America.

Some companies, like Konten Networks, accelerated US-bound orders anticipating higher duties, while others, such as Sintrones Technology, reroute supply chains through Mexico to mitigate tariffs.

Larger firms like TSMC and Nanya Technology are expanding US-based production, but smaller companies may struggle to adapt.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Taiwan’s economic vulnerability reveals 40-year shift in trade dynamics

Taiwan’s anxiety over the proposed 32% tariffs highlights a profound shift in its trade relationship with the U.S. over four decades.

In 1990, the U.S. was Taiwan’s dominant export market, receiving 32.3% of Taiwan’s total exports with a $9.1 billion trade surplus1.

By 2015, despite growing in absolute terms to $34.2 billion, Taiwan’s exports to the U.S. had fallen to just 12.21% of its total exports, though recent figures show this has climbed back to approximately 25% as Taiwan’s tech sector grew2.

This evolution reflects Taiwan’s economic transformation, shifting manufacturing to China and Southeast Asia while specializing in high-value semiconductor production, creating a triangular trade model that complicates today’s tariff impacts1.

The growing $64.9 billion trade surplus with the U.S. (mentioned in the article) makes Taiwan particularly vulnerable to Trump’s reciprocal tariff approach, which specifically targets countries with large trade surpluses3.

2️⃣ Front-loading orders reveals tech industry’s limited tariff defense strategies

Taiwanese companies’ rush to front-load orders before tariff implementation demonstrates both the immediate impact of trade policy uncertainty and the limited options available to exporters.