TAICHUNG (TVBS News) — Central Taiwan's manufacturing sector is seeking government partnership to weather intensifying global trade pressures, industry leaders declared Monday (April 14) at a high-stakes meeting in Taichung. The Economic Committee of Taiwan's parliament (立法院經濟委員會) convened the special session to address mounting concerns about U.S. tariff increases threatening the region's industrial backbone, drawing anxious representatives from machinery, machine tools, hand tools, and bicycle manufacturers.
Kuo Ai-mei (郭璦玫), speaking for the machinery sector, outlined a perfect storm of challenges confronting Taiwan's exporters: the protracted U.S.-China trade tensions, pandemic disruptions, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and escalating global tariff disputes. She cautioned that the failure of small manufacturers under reciprocal tariff pressures could fracture crucial supply chains. Kuo further warned against opportunistic price-gouging disguised as tariff adjustments, a practice she believes could trigger dangerous stagflation across Taiwan's export-dependent economy.
Vice Economic Minister Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) reframed the tariff challenges as potential catalysts for industrial evolution, unveiling government plans to foster strategic alliances between large and small manufacturers. Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), representing Taiwan's main opposition party, pressed for accelerated international trade negotiations and expanded subsidy programs. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) Legislator Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純), from the ruling party, emphasized a dual approach that protects both industrial competitiveness and worker welfare amid the tariff pressures.
Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) Legislator Mai Yu-chen (麥玉珍), representing the island's third-largest political party, advocated for strategic tax reductions, citing last year's government revenue surplus as financial justification. Local leadership joined the response effort as Taichung Deputy Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) revealed the municipal government's development of 36 distinct support initiatives designed to guide regional industries through the complex tariff landscape. ★