ANALYSIS – In wake of the Ukraine war and as China effectively blockades Taiwan with war drills surrounding the island, American firms both large and small are assessing whether to exit Taiwan or take other less drastic security precautions.
Their concern: that any major conflict could result in the loss or seizure of assets on the island.
This is also one of Communist China’s goals in its ongoing military intimidation campaign – to damage Taiwan’s long-term economic viability.
Politico’s China Watcher newsletter:
“It’s inherently in the interest of the PRC to maintain a high shrill tone with Taiwan to dampen the interest of companies to invest in Taiwan,” [Rupert] Hammond-Chambers [president of the Washington, D.C.-based US-Taiwan Business Council], said. “That reduces the attractiveness of Taiwan as an investment location and raises the attractiveness of China as an economic partner to offset that.”
And “the ‘Ukraine effect’ has made companies vastly more aware of and sensitive to geopolitical risk…” It noted:
The BlackRock Investment Institute earlier this month rated “U.S.-China Strategic competition,” including “military action to accelerate reunification with Taiwan” as sixth out of the world’s 10 most serious geopolitical risks. “The risk will increase as the decade wears on,” the Institute advised.
China Watcher adds:
“I have seven fortune 500 companies asking me to pre-plan and build an outline of triggers for them to start moving people, infrastructure, and assets [outside of Taiwan]. That’s real. It’s happening,” said DALE BUCKNER, chief executive officer of international security firm Global Guardian. “There are some companies that are taking this very seriously [because] they don’t want to happen what just happened in Russia where they lost billions of dollars’ worth of assets, both financial and hard, so they are already looking to disperse people and assets [to other countries.”
Meanwhile, as Politico notes, there is gradual move away from Taiwan:
Slow motion exodus. U.S. companies in Taiwan are taking proactive measures to insulate themselves from that risk by beginning the process of relocating infrastructure — including production facilities — and personnel to safer locations in the region.
“We have manufacturers that can simply build a new manufacturing facility in South Korea or Japan or in the Philippines and some are doing that [while] some are moving those manufacturing facilities to Europe or the United States,” Buckner said. “I don’t think that you’re seeing boatloads of materials leave the island or people evacuating at scale — this will be a very drip-drip slow over time transition that won’t be noticeable unless there is some level of attack or blockade of some kind.”
What can the U.S. government do beyond the multiple initiatives in the U.S. designed to bolster Taiwan’s military defense?
Politico notes:
“A [U.S.-Taiwan] bilateral trade agreement would smooth out some of the significant areas of economic disruption … [and provide] a framework and template for other friends and allies to do the same including the Japanese and the Aussies,” Hammond-Chambers said.
However, he adds: “The problem we’re running into here is that there’s just no appetite on the left or right for trade agreements. It’s not a Taiwan issue, it’s a trade issue.”
Let’s hope the U.S. can find ways to resolve this issue and keep Communist China from its goal to weaken Taiwan’s economy. ALD
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Biden not so far gone to have that pot of gold for the biden family,total biden family corruption, Business records from China’s National Credit Information Publicity System continue to identify Skaneateles as a 10% owner in BHR, and U.S. business records have listed Hunter as the only owner of Skaneateles. China owns the bidens.Never forget lead painted toys, fxxxed up dry wall,poison pet food, the virus, this is what America got from China.
Already cut ties to US Thats good since all went Chinas way to begin with
Have any one of you students of world politics read “The art of War” written by Sun Tzu? Quote ” when weak appear strong, when strong appear weak” These policies are being practiced by the mainland Chinese.
CCP’s audience is almost always internal.
CCP seems to be on the verge of domestic collapse – debt, economy, loss of general population support.
What better time for the CCP to ramp it up with the ROC, al least in the pretense of strength and national solidarity.
Any company that moves its manufacturing out of Taiwan ought to be moving the facilities to the US. We need to stop letting our “allies” take our capabilities. We are in a trade war. Did we let companies invest in Nazi Germany? Yes. Did it work out well for us? No. Remember the scrap metal that was sold to Japan prior to WWII was returned at Pearl Harbor. We must look out for American interests first if we are to survive.
Seems about time for Biden to order one of his highest level military or State Dept. leaders to Taiwan for coordinating protection of US assets from potential Chinese actions. Send more American officials to Taiwan rather than fewer.
If American companies continue to move assets to China all that will do is to give them more power over us and make it easier to shut us down. How, or rather why, should we have to depend on China for such critical things as our medicines and electronics? What is wrong with our businesses in this country that they would weaken so willingly? We don’t need to worry about other countries hurting us, we are destroying ourselves.
Seems to me, if these are American companies with American assets and personnel, it bolsters the case for America to back Taiwan up in the event of an incursion by the CCP. We should make sure that casualties of “only son” Chinese soldiers is high and if need be supply Taiwan with nukes to make sure it is a level playing field.
It’s time we take the gloves off for this bastard communist government and free the world from it’s ramblings. So after all their bluster and high minded propaganda about this country, that country, even the USA’s imperialism it is they who are the aggressors and imperial wannabe’s. The other word that starts with the same letter as their favorite word, hegemony, is hypocrite, what they really are. FTCCP
It might backfire with Taiwan moving business here, especially the chip industry. Can spell Berlin Airlift?
We need to blow up all the American factories in Communist Red China to teach them not to trade with our enemies.