COMING HOME? US and European companies would require Taiwanese suppliers to adjust their production in light of the coronavirus outbreak, Shen Jong-chin said

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 07, 2020
By: Natasha Li  /  Staff reporter

Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) yesterday promised to assist Taiwanese companies seeking to move production out of China as the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak continued to spread in that nation.

“We have already witnessed the first wave of Taiwanese companies returning home [last year] due to an ongoing trade conflict between the US and China,” Shen told reporters. “Now a second wave will [soon be] upon us as large US and European firms require [Taiwanese] suppliers to adjust their production in China in light of the spreading epidemic.”

The ministry would assist the suppliers with their relocation plans, as well as address companies’ concerns over scarcity of land and labor, Shen said.

The ministry would also help Taiwanese manufacturers looking to move production from China to Southeast Asia, with a focus on the nations targeted by the government’s New Southbound Policy, he said.    [FULL  STORY]