LOCAL STRATEGY: The company’s manufacturing plant in Taiwan ships only a limited amount of products to the US, as it is focused on meeting demand in the Asia-Pacific
Taipei Times
Date: May 14, 2019
By: Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporter
German chemicals maker Covestro AG yesterday said that the escalating US-China trade dispute would have a limited effect on its Taiwanese business, as its local operation mainly supplies high-tech materials to Southeast Asian markets.
“The trade war has [had] some impact on the market, but we, with production sites over the world, can shift production to where the customers are if needed and avoid the tariffs,” Thomas Roemer, head of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) at Covestro, told the Taipei Times in an interview in Taipei.
The trade spat started to weigh on demand from Chinese clients several months ago, but the market is volatile and can change quickly, Roemer said, adding that the company has seen demand rise before the US increased tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports on Friday last week.
Covestro’s production and investment policy would not change because of some tweets and it would focus on its products’ long-term development, Roemer said.
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