TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) unveiled plans Tuesday (April 8) for unprecedented coordination between Taiwan's local governments as they scramble to shield their industrial bases from devastating U.S. tariff impacts. During high-level talks in Taichung, New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) presented alarming projections that his city alone could suffer export losses reaching US$5.525 billion (NT$182.3 billion) under the new trade measures, underscoring the urgency driving this municipal alliance.
The meeting underscored the disproportionate vulnerability of Taiwan's two largest urban centers, which together house approximately 7 million residents and form the backbone of the island's industrial and manufacturing prowess. Mayor Hou painted a troubling economic portrait of New Taipei, describing a sprawling industrial powerhouse with 260,000 registered profit-generating enterprises, including 20,000 businesses in traditional sectors now facing existential threats. According to figures shared during the talks, New Taipei's exports to American markets reached approximately US$20 billion (NT$660 billion) in the previous year, with new tariffs threatening to slash that figure by US$5.525 billion.
The New Taipei mayor's analysis identified eleven industrial sectors standing directly in the tariffs' crosshairs, with electronic components, information and communications technology, metal machinery, and plastics and rubber manufacturers facing the most severe disruptions. These vulnerable industries encompass an estimated 5,162 businesses now scrambling to adapt. Mayor Hou outlined immediate relief measures, proposing one-year extensions for local tax deadlines or alternatively offering affected businesses 36-month interest-free installment plans to manage their tax obligations. In a call for national solidarity, he emphasized the critical need for Taiwan's parliament to swiftly approve the pending NT$88 billion (US$2.67 billion) subsidy package, while suggesting even this substantial sum might prove insufficient given the scale of economic damage anticipated.
