Trade Impasse May Drive Exit of Taiwan PCB Firms

 Trade Impasse May Drive Exit of Taiwan PCB Firms

If progress on a proposed merchandise trade agreement with China is stalled, Taiwanese printed circuit board (PCB) firms may seek to move their manufacturing overseas, according to Want China Times. Taiwan is the world's third largest location for PCB manufacturers, accounting for 12 to 15% of the global market in the decade from 2001 to 2010, according to Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA), behind China and Japan. According to Want China Times, some in the local industry worry that legislative deadlock over ratifying Taiwan's trade-in-services agreement with China, signed in June 2013, will delay the merchandise pact and hurt Taiwan's competitiveness. The fears were reflected by an editorial in The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, which pointed to South Korea's free trade talks with China as another threat to Taiwan. Since both South Korea and Taiwan "count China as their largest trading partner," the expected signing of the pact between Seoul and Beijing by the end of this year will pose "a problem for Taiwan." -