Two Scenarios As Taiwan Panics To Restart Major Economic Engine

Older people in the United States think of Taiwan as a place that makes toys for the world. Younger ones associate made-in-Taiwan with their electronic devices, including Apple products designed in Silicon Valley. Either way, the west Pacific island with factories along its much of its west coast has depended on exports for decades. But export orders were down from 5% or more each month from May to July compared to the same months of 2014, an unusual rout. Demand from No. 1 market China is waning with its economic growth. Made-in-China, even designed-in-China, has coincidentally taken over much of what Taiwan can ship to anywhere in the world. In the United States, the No. 2 Taiwan export market, consumers show signs of cooling their purchases of simple tech hardware.