SILVER LINING: A side effect of the US-China trade war is dozens of Taiwanese firms applying to relocate their manufacturing back to Taiwan, lifting private investment

Taiei Times
Date: May 25, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday cut its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year to 2.19 percent, from a 2.27 percent estimate in February, as exports proved weaker last quarter and private consumption failed to lend support.

Poor economic data warranted the downward revision after the decline in exports turned out to be deeper than expected, DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a news conference.

The nation’s export-reliant economy expanded 1.71 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, slower than the 1.72 percent annual increase the agency reported on April 30.

Exports, equivalent to 60 percent of domestic GDP, are now expected to remain in the negative for the entire year, rather than eking out fractional growth, after Washington on May 10 raised tariffs on an additional US$20 billion of Chinese goods, the agency said in a report.    [FULL  STORY]