Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn, suggested that Apple move production from China to neighboring Taiwan in the hope of avoiding tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration.
The Trump administration's plans to impose heavy tariffs on Chinese-made goods have raised the concern of Terry Gou, the largest shareholder of Hon Hai, the main division of Foxconn Technology Group.
"I encourage Apple to move to Taiwan," Gou said. When asked if Apple would move production out of China, he replied, "I think it's quite likely."
Taiwanese firms are seeking to expand manufacturing capacity or build new factories in Southeast Asia to avoid duties on goods exported to the United States, although most of their manufacturing capacity is still located in China. Analysts warn that this process could take several years.
In addition, according to Bloomberg, a significant shift of production from China to Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, could exacerbate tensions between the two governments.
Earlier, Nikkei sources learned that Apple to its largest suppliers with a request to calculate the cost of moving 15-30% of its production capacity from China to Southeast Asia, but faced strong opposition from three main partners. Hon Hai, which relies on orders for about half of its revenue from Apple, said at the time that it had not been asked to do so.
Source: 3dnews.ru