TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's machinery manufacturers voiced alarm Friday (April 11) over looming U.S. trade measures that could devastate their industry, already struggling with global economic headwinds. The Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械工業同業公會), a prominent industrial organization representing equipment manufacturers, warned that potential retaliatory tariffs from Washington might deliver a critical blow to the sector. President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) met with industry executives in Taichung earlier that day, Taiwan's manufacturing heartland, where he pledged government efforts to negotiate with American counterparts to defend both national economic interests and the machinery industry's survival.
The association's chairman, David Chuang (莊大立), emphasized the complexity of bilateral trade relations, pointing specifically to America's significant trade surplus with Taiwan despite historically comparable tariff structures between the two economies. Addressing concerns about "origin washing" — the practice of disguising products' true country of origin — Chuang pledged industry cooperation with Taiwanese authorities to ensure regulatory compliance. He positioned Taiwan's machinery sector as a potential partner in America's manufacturing resurgence rather than a competitor. The chairman also underscored Taiwan's attraction for international machine tool companies, attributing this to the island's robust and integrated supply chain ecosystem, while stressing the necessity of governmental support to maintain this competitive advantage.
In a parallel statement, Patrick P. Chen (陳伯佳), who leads the Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA, 台灣工具機暨零組件工業同業公會), a separate industry group focused specifically on machine tool manufacturing, expressed confidence in the sector's fundamental strength. Chen highlighted how Taiwan's machine tool supply networks had actually strengthened during the global pandemic's disruptions, demonstrating remarkable adaptability. Nevertheless, he called for targeted government intervention to address persistent logistical challenges that continue to hamper the industry's full recovery and international competitiveness. ★