Rupert Hammond-Chambers

Inserted 3 years ago

“The American automobile industry is currently facing a chip supply issue, but it is primarily a function of the industry itself miscalculating its production needs. At the onset of the pandemic, the U.S. auto industry significantly reduced its orders for chips, expecting a significant reduction in demand for vehicles. That drop in vehicle demand did not materialize fully, and the industry is therefore left with existing chip orders that do not match their manufacturing needs. Companies make orders for chips based on expected demand, and those orders are executed along legally contracted boundaries. The absence of enough chips to run American plants is absolutely not a function of any deliberate punitive actions by a Taiwan company. It is instead the result of American manufacturers failing to order enough chips. The suggestion that this situation is a function of punitive action by a Taiwan company is manifestly incorrect. Additionally, the view that the U.S government can pressure companies, foreign and domestic, to make changes to legally binding contracts to accommodate preferred business sectors raises serious concerns about the nature of international commerce and the laws that govern it.”

Taiwannews

President of the U.S-Taiwan Business Council