Affected by US restrictions on China’s access to chipmaking machines, Taiwan’s exports to China and Hong Kong last month fell 26 percent from a year earlier to US$151 million, Ministry of Finance data showed.
While an improvement from March’s fall of nearly 34 percent, it still marked the 10th consecutive month of declines.
US-China tensions have risen over Taiwan, with the world’s leading producer of cutting-edge chips seeking greater ties with Washington in the face of rising pressure from Beijing.
Photo: Reuters
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi last year and current speaker Kevin McCarthy last month, adding to strains.
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly stressed the need to place “guardrails” around the increasingly combative relationship, but China says those efforts are not genuine.
Taiwan’s slumping exports are also attributable to the ongoing dropoff in global demand for technology. The nation’s exports plunged 13.3 percent overall last month, as worldwide purchases of electronics remained weak.
Shipments to China of integrated circuit chips — pivotal components of electronic appliances, computers and smartphones — fell 19 percent from a year earlier, declining for a sixth straight month.
Separately, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said sales last month stopped a two-month falling streak, with analysts citing a relatively low comparison base in March for the rebound.
In a statement, TSMC said it posted NT$147.9 billion (US$4.81 billion) in consolidated sales, up 1.7 percent from March.
Sales in March declined to a 17-month low of NT$145.41 billion, down 10.9 percent from a month earlier and 15.4 percent from a year earlier on continued inventory adjustments in the global semiconductor industry.
However, on an annual basis, sales last month declined 14.3 percent, TSMC said.
In the first four months of this year, TSMC’s consolidated sales stood at NT$656.53 billion, down 1.1 percent from a year earlier.
Additional reporting by CNA
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