On July 31, 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to adjust reciprocal tariff rates, setting the provisional tariff for Taiwan at 20%, effective from August 7, 2025. According to senior government officials in Taiwan, relief measures have been initiated, and affected businesses are urged to apply within the stipulated timeframe. For traditional industries, China faces tariffs exceeding 50% on related goods, which provides Taiwan with a competitive opportunity to gain market recognition.
Taiwan President Ching-Te Lai stressed the importance of defense autonomy during his speech at the "2025 Taiwan Venture Capital Summit" on August 12, 2025. He stated that Taiwan has no intention of changing the status quo but must strengthen its national defense.
A surge in global demand across defense and aerospace sectors—including military weapons, unmanned systems, commercial aircraft, and low-Earth orbit satellites—is fueling rapid growth and pushing material requirements to new heights. Among the key beneficiaries: carbon fiber composites, prized for their high strength and lightweight properties. As performance and fuel efficiency become critical differentiators, carbon fiber has emerged as a strategic material, opening the door for suppliers to move upmarket into advanced global supply chains.
Taiwanese electrical parts manufacturer Cub Elecparts announced on August 11 that it will partner with an international defense technology company to officially enter the counter-drone market. Production and sales will be conducted in Taiwan, while simultaneously developing international markets.
As Taiwan accelerates efforts to localize satellite manufacturing, the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) recently held a briefing on its new communications satellite manufacturing industrialization platform—an initiative aimed at cultivating domestic capabilities for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite production and systems integration.
Following South Korea's shocking announcement to invest US$350 billion in the US, with 90% of the profits staying in the US, Nvidia and AMD reportedly have agreed to pay 15% of their chip sales revenue from China to the US government. This equally astonishing arrangement secures export licenses from the US government for Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 chips shipping to China.
The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) Bureau has recently approved investment applications from three companies: Yalixin, Mega Sunergy, and Nalco Water.
As geopolitical tensions flare, demand for attack drones is soaring. But exporting armed unmanned aerial vehicles is often mired in strict government reviews, stretching delivery timelines by years.
The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) announced that the first satellite in its self-developed Formosat-8 optical remote sensing satellite constellation project, the Formosat-8A (FS-8A), successfully passed the pre-shipment review (PSR) on August 6. This clearance allows the satellite to be transported to the launch site, where it will be launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-15 mission.
Palmer Luckey, founder of AI defense technology startup Anduril Industries, recently visited Taiwan to personally deliver the company's first batch of Altius-600M attack drones for use by the Taiwanese Army. By defining hardware with software, Anduril has sought to break traditional molds and carve out new opportunities in the defense market.
Asia Optical held an online investor conference on August 6, 2025, where chairman Yi-Jen Lai praised its second quarter performance. He shared that digital cameras and action cameras are showing promising growth. Due to its broad global deployment, Asia Optical is also confident in their response strategies to tariffs. However, it is paying special attention to the high 40% tariff rate in Myanmar.
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