Taipei [Taiwan], July 27 : The United States has, for the first time, overtaken China and Hong Kong in 2024 to become the largest buyer of Taiwan-made machinery, signalling a notable shift in regional trade patterns influenced by geopolitical tensions, industrial strategies, and shifting supply chains, Focus Taiwan reported.
According to Taiwan's Ministry of Finance (MOF), outbound sales of Taiwan's machinery to the US reached USD 5.8 billion in 2024, an increase of 6.1 per cent compared to 2023. This figure represents 24.2 per cent of Taiwan's total machinery exports. In contrast, exports to China and Hong Kong slipped by 1.5 per cent year-on-year to USD 5.7 billion, accounting for 23.7 per cent of the total, Focus Taiwan noted.
Between 2019 and 2024, Taiwan's machinery exports to the US surged 24.5 per cent, while shipments to China and Hong Kong declined 16.8 per cent, according to the MOF report.
In 2019, China and Hong Kong together made up 29.3 per cent of Taiwan's machinery exports, while the US held a 19.9 per cent share. The reversal reflects deeper changes in global industrial supply chains.
Focus Taiwan reported that Taiwan's declining machinery sales to China are partly due to Beijing's deliberate investment in domestic machinery manufacturing to reduce dependence on foreign equipment. Simultaneously, growing trade friction between the US and China, along with the push for localised production under the "Made in the USA" policy, has made the American market increasingly attractive to Taiwanese firms in recent years.
Despite the gains in the US, total machinery exports from Taiwan fell to a three-year low of USD 24.1 billion in 2024, down 0.4 per cent from 2023 and 15.5 per cent from the 2022 record high of USD 28.6 billion, Focus Taiwan said.
Machinery remained Taiwan's fourth-largest export category in 2024, but its share of total exports declined to a historic low of 5.1 per cent, from 5.6 per cent the year before. Although exports rebounded 4.3 per cent in early 2025, MOF warned that global uncertainty and US-China tensions could disrupt future growth, Focus Taiwan reported.
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