Taiwan's supply chain firms are navigating a turbulent landscape as the US continues to recalibrate its tariff policies. While recent exemptions for smartphones, laptops, and other electronic devices have offered temporary relief to major brands like Apple, wearables such as the Apple Watch and AirPods remain excluded from these lists. This exclusion injects new uncertainty into the market, particularly for suppliers already grappling with razor-thin profit margins.
Google has once again requested permission from the South Korean government to export high-precision map data, marking its third attempt in nearly two decades. The move, confirmed by local media reports including Chosun Biz and ET News, comes amid increasing US trade pressure and raises concerns about the impact on South Korea's domestic digital mapping industry.
Benefiting from the 3nm process, the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) saw its revenue reach a record-breaking NT$2.21 trillion (approx. US$68.23 billion) in 2024, surpassing the NT$2 trillion mark for the first time. It also marks the second consecutive year the park has outperformed the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park, maintaining its top spot among Taiwan's major science parks by revenue.
In the latest chapter of a rekindled trade war, Beijing has chosen silence over rhetoric, discipline over drama. As President Donald Trump returns to the White House and reasserts his hardline stance against China, the Chinese government has adopted what analysts describe as a strategy of fighting fire with fire— calculated, forceful, but notably devoid of public escalation.
At many international conferences, China consistently sends top experts, making it difficult for Western participants from the US and New Zealand to counter their arguments. Even in private conversations, both inside and outside the conference rooms, few dare to challenge China's perspectives.
South Korea has emerged as a global frontrunner in artificial intelligence (AI) patent filings, securing the highest per capita rate worldwide. According to the latest AI Index Report from Stanford University's Human-Centered AI Institute (Stanford HAI), in 2022, South Korea recorded 10.26 AI-related patent registrations per 100,000 people, outpacing Luxembourg (8.73), the US (4.23), and Japan (2.53).
As the ripple effects of the tariff war spread across industries, even sectors seemingly less tied to hardware manufacturing, like cybersecurity, have not remained entirely unaffected. Taiwan's Minister of Digital Affairs, Yennun Huang, recently pointed out that although digital economy sectors such as cybersecurity have relatively low direct export volumes to the US, potential indirect impacts still warrant scrutiny.
With its new Tokyo unit, AI chip startup Rebellions is positioning itself to play a pivotal role in Japan's burgeoning AI data center ecosystem. The company's local push comes as Japan ramps up investment in AI infrastructure, and as demand grows for advanced semiconductors capable of powering large-scale AI models.
Donald Trump's approach to policy—be it trade, diplomacy, or domestic affairs—is best described as a political hairpin turn. Each abrupt pivot sends shockwaves through markets, rattles diplomats, and keeps corporate boardrooms on edge.
Taiwan's tech giants are grappling with rising costs and logistical hurdles as they follow TSMC into the US, responding to pressure from Washington to localize advanced semiconductor manufacturing. While TSMC pushes forward with its Arizona fabs, Taiwanese server makers—including Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, Gigabyte, and Asus—are facing high setup costs, labor shortages, and union negotiations as they ramp up their US operations.
(Editor's note: Nvidia has disclosed Tudesday that the U.S. government has imposed new export restrictions on its H20 AI chip bound for China)
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