Both Taiwan's imports and exports have reached their second highest figures ever, mostly due to U.S. customers getting tech orders in ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s looming tariff hike.
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00:00Taiwan's trade is surging in the second quarter of 2025,
00:04as orders stack up for semiconductors and other tech products.
00:08It comes as the global supply chain anticipates the next round of US tariffs,
00:13first announced in April, then delayed by 90 days.
00:17With Taiwanese products facing a possible 32% levy in early July,
00:21assuming no deal is made before then,
00:24US buyers are getting their orders in before the hike.
00:27Our customers' reaction is that they have to get in Q3 before.
00:33We hope they can get in Q2.
00:36The Q3's demand is a bit more important for US customers.
00:41We will continue to communicate with customers.
00:44The trade surge is creating some big numbers for Taiwan,
00:47the producer of most of the world's most powerful chips.
00:50Both exports and imports hit their second highest figures ever in April,
00:55with almost US$50 billion in exports,
00:58around 80% of that the sale of semiconductors or other tech products.
01:02But it's not all good news.
01:04Freight and cargo companies, including major player EVA Air,
01:08are feeling the fallout of the US-China trade war.
01:11That's as shippers slam on the brakes to avoid the over 100% tariffs
01:16Beijing and Washington have thrown at each other.
01:18But with US and Chinese officials set to meet for trade talks in the coming days,
01:39and the beginnings of a US-UK trade deal emerging earlier this week,
01:44there could be hope yet on the horizon for a return to normalcy for global trade.
01:49Joseph Wu and Rhys Ayers for Taiwan Plus.