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Local automation becomes a tariff storm safe haven, but costly
TAIPEI, Taiwan — TrendForce’s manufacturers — especially those
latest “Human-Machine Technology in critical sectors like automotive,
Report” points out that although the semiconductors, and electronics with
90-day delay on the U.S. reciprocal U.S. or Mexico-based operations — to
tariffs announced by the Trump adopt smart manufacturing and advanced
administration in early April 2025 automation at a faster pace.
offer temporary relief, it has already
triggered lasting shifts in global An analysis of the World Economic
manufacturing and supply chain Forum’s “Lighthouse Factory” list —
strategies. highlighting highly automated and
intelligent manufacturing sites — shows
The post-pandemic landscape and that over 40% of the 189 designated sites
geopolitical tensions had already are located in China, with electronics,
prompted a move away from long, global appliances, industrial equipment, and food
supply chains toward shorter, regionalized processing as the main sectors.
models.
Walmart’s recent announcement to absorb
The added uncertainty of tariffs is tariffs on Chinese imports reflects China’s
now forcing companies to reassess continued advantages in manufacturing
manufacturing footprints and supply risks costs and supply chain density.
as they accelerate the search for resilient
strategies. Additionally, China accounted for more
than half of the world’s newly installed
TrendForce notes that the core objective industrial robots in recent years,
of reciprocal tariffs is to increase import underscoring its maturity in both industrial
costs and encourage reshoring to the U.S. technology and infrastructure and giving
or nearby regions. it a significant cost advantage in smart
factory deployment.
However, with high labor costs and
ongoing labor shortages, maintaining Room for growth
profitability and efficiency will require In contrast, North America
(including the U.S. and
Mexico) account for just 7%
of global lighthouse factories,
indicating significant room
for growth in Industry 4.0
adoption.
While the U.S. lacks
competitiveness in labor costs,
it does lead in innovation
areas such as 5G-native
factories, AI-driven predictive
maintenance, and digital twin
technology.
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