Taiwan Exports Surge Fueled by AI and Pre-Trump Tariffs
Taiwan's exports witnessed a significant jump in January, exceeding expectations driven by burgeoning demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and companies placing orders prior to Donald Trump's presidency and the imposition of trade tariffs.
Exports increased by 4.4% year-over-year to $38.71 billion, surpassing the Reuters poll's forecast of 3.5%. This marks the 15th consecutive month of export growth, although lower than December's surge of 9.2%.
Leading Taiwanese companies such as TSMC, a global giant in contract chipmaking, supply major tech firms like Apple and Nvidia. Beatrice Tsai, an official from the finance ministry, attributed the outperforming exports to AI demand and businesses anticipating Trump's tariffs.
Excluding the Lunar New Year holiday period, exports surged by a third compared to the same timeframe last year, a rare occurrence according to Tsai.
Despite uncertainties posed by tariffs and geopolitical risks, the ministry expressed overall optimism regarding export momentum for the year. Exports in February are projected to rise between 16% and 20% year-on-year.
While exports to the United States experienced a modest increase of 0.7% to $8.46 billion, exports to China, Taiwan's primary trading partner, declined by 11.7%.
Taiwan's total exports of electronic components increased by 3.1% to $14.0 billion, led by a 4.2% rise in semiconductor exports. Imports, however, decreased by 17.2% to $28.74 billion, falling short of economists' predictions of a 0.7% gain.