TAIPEI — Taiwan’s export orders rose more than expected in April, as customers stockpiled the island’s technology products ahead of worldwide tariffs imposed, and then partially rescinded, in the same month by US President Donald Trump.
Export orders jumped 19.8 percent in April on the year to $56.4 billion for a third successive monthly gain, the economic affairs ministry said on Tuesday, exceeding analysts’ expectations of an increase of 10.0 percent.
Orders for goods from Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker TSMC and other tech companies, are considered a bellwether of global technology demand.
Earlier in May, TSMC reported that April sales soared 48.1 percent on the year to T$349.57 billion ($11.58 billion).
Trade-dependent Taiwan’s export performance this year could be substantially affected if Trump follows through with his tariff plans, however.
The ministry said orders for April had been rushed in, probably ahead of any US tariffs, so explaining the expectation-beating performance.
The ministry said it saw order momentum being supported by AI and high-performance computing.
However, it warned in a statement, “Uncertainty has increased over recent global economic and political situations and geopolitical risks,” calling for close attention and a careful response to the matter.
For May, the ministry said it expected export orders to rise between 12.5 percent and 16.6 percent on the year.
Taiwan’s orders in April for telecoms products were up 20.0 percenton the year, while those for electronic products gained 35.0 percent.
