A growing number of Asian manufacturers of products ranging from memory chips to machines tools are moving to shift production from China to other factories in the region in the wake of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports.
Companies including SK Hynix of South Korea and Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba Machine Co. and Komatsu of Japan began plotting production moves since July, when the first tariffs hit, and the shifts are now under way, company representatives and others with knowledge of the plans told Reuters. Others, such as Taiwanese computer-maker Compal Electronics and South Korea's LG Electronics, are making contingency plans in case the trade war continues or deepens.
The company representatives and other sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The quick reactions to the US tariffs are possible because many large manufacturers have facilities in multiple countries and can move at least small amounts of production without building new factories.
Some governments, notably in Taiwan and Thailand, are actively encouraging companies to move work from China. The United States imposed 25 percent duties covering $50 billion of Chinese-made goods in July.
---Reuters, Seoul
Latest News