TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The manufacturing indicator dropped from a level of fast growth to sluggish growth in March due to uncertainty about the Trump administration’s tariffs, a prominent Taiwan think tank said Wednesday.
Per Taiwan’s color system indicating economic performance, the indicator went from yellow-red or fast growth in February, down to yellow-blue or sluggish growth in March. The decline skipped the green light indicating stable growth, per CNA.
The announcement of tariffs by US President Donald Trump and the subsequent changes in direction raised the risk of doing trade across the world, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said. Despite the advantages of strong demand for products related to AI, high performance computing, and electronics, pessimism about the future of manufacturing declined.
The overall figure for manufacturing dropped from 16.66 in February to 12.12 in March. Electronics, computers, and optics were still in demand, but their indicator turned green for stable growth. A blue light indicated decline for sectors including chemical materials, basic metals, and petrochemical products, with falling demand in China, oversupply, and price competition as the main reasons.
The institute said continued uncertainty about the tariffs would affect investor confidence and the adjustment of supply chains. The impact of the US tariffs on China and on the semiconductor sector merited special attention from Taiwan.
