Taiwan’s government says it is paying close attention to reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX asked Taiwanese suppliers to move manufacturing to other countries because of “geopolitical” concerns.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that SpaceX’s request to suppliers in Taiwan’s multibillion-dollar industry appeared to have prompted some to shift locations to Vietnam, Thailand and other places. In response, Taiwan’s economic affairs minister, JW Kuo, said the industry was strong and “should be able to cope”, but that the government was monitoring the situation.
One satellite component maker, Chin-Poon Industrial, told Reuters it had been asked to move its manufacturing operations to Thailand “mostly due to geopolitical considerations”. Two other SpaceX suppliers, Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC) and Universal Microwave Technology, expanded to Vietnam this year, the report said. Neither would comment on individual clients, but both have cited geopolitical concerns as reasons for their expansions.
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