Taiwan exports to US jump by record as China shipments fall

Taiwan’s exports to the US surged by a record last month while shipments to China fell, underscoring the accelerating decoupling of technology supply chains between the world’s two largest economies. 

Taiwan’s exports to the US jumped 81.6% year on year to $10.2 billion in April, data from the Finance Ministry in Taipei showed Wednesday. It was the biggest increase on record. Meanwhile, overseas shipments to mainland China fell 1.1% to $7.5 billion. 

Total exports grew 4.3% to $37.5 billion in April, according to the ministry, less than the 9.9% increase economists had forecast in a Bloomberg survey. 

Shipments of information, communication and audio-video products were the main drivers of the surge in exports to the US, rising approximately 200%, according to the ministry’s statement. 

The boom in global demand for the computing hardware underpinning artificial intelligence, such as servers and semiconductors, continued to see strong growth. Exports of computers and related hardware, which includes servers and hard drives, increased 298.2%.