Major Taiwanese computer maker Acer has raised the prices for its laptops made in China and sold in the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump announced increased import tariffs on products from China.
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00:00Taiwan's top business leaders have convened to discuss how to deal with U.S. President
00:05Donald Trump's 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports.
00:09This will affect Taiwanese companies like Acer, a leading computer maker with factories
00:14in China.
00:17In response to Trump's tariffs, Acer announced a 10 percent increase in prices for their
00:22products made in China and sold in the U.S.
00:26But the levies are a concern across the Taiwanese tech industry.
00:44Tech analysts say higher prices due to Trump's tariffs should be temporary, but it could
00:49lead to major shifts in the global tech industry.
01:07In the 1990s, Taiwan became one of China's biggest sources of foreign direct investment.
01:13Now over 80 percent of laptops made by Taiwanese companies are built in China.
01:19Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics, has its biggest
01:24facility in China.
01:27While other major Taiwanese tech manufacturers like Asus, Acer, Quanta, Inventec, Wistron,
01:35and Compao all have factories in China.
01:40Last year, Taiwan tech companies began plans to move some of their operations to the U.S.,
01:46a policy that industry leaders intend to accelerate due to Trump's new tariffs on China.
02:10Last week, Taiwan President Lai Ching-de promised to encourage more Taiwanese companies to invest
02:16in the U.S., following Trump's announcement of separate possible levies on Taiwan-made
02:21semiconductors.
02:23Caught in the middle of their president's tariff campaign are U.S. consumers, now forced
02:29to deal with paying higher prices for their electronic goods, facing the brunt of an escalating
02:36trade war.
02:37Hank Hsu and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.