U.S. Tariffs in Focus on Maritime Day

Today (the 11th) marks the annual Maritime Day, an important festival for Taiwan"s shipping industry. The Maritime Day Preparatory Committee will hold the 71st Maritime Day Celebration Conference this afternoon at the Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei,
presided over by Committee Chairman and Chairman of the National Shipping Association, Mr. Tsai Feng-Ming.

On the eve of Maritime Day (yesterday, the 10th), Mr. Tsai, together with key industry leaders including Mr. Huang Chi-Yang (Chairman of the National Shipping Agency Association), Mr. Chen Mu-Chih (Chairman of the Taipei Shipping Forwarders Association),
Mr. Chang Lieh-Chung (Chairman of the National Seafarers’ Union), Mr. Lin Chiung-Hsin (Chairman of the Container Storage & Transportation Association), and Mr. Lin Pei-Chiao (Secretary General of the Shipping Association),
held a press conference to address and answer various issues facing Taiwan’s shipping industry over the past year.

It must be admitted that this year, the U.S. Trump administration’s tariff policies and the exchange rate differences/losses between the US dollar and the New Taiwan dollar have become major issues of concern for the industry.

During the event, Mr. Tsai Feng-Ming, Chairman of the National Shipping Association and Chairman of Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., stated that Trump’s implementation of tariff rates for countries around the world has wide-reaching effects.
His company operates globally, so exports involve more than just Taiwanese clients. Tariffs influence how U.S. importers purchase goods from all over the world, covering routes from Asia to the Americas, Europe, and even South America.
Both horizontal and vertical market strategies, as well as the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar, will impact Taiwan’s exports. Traditionally, the third quarter remains a peak season with basic cargo volumes, but in the fourth quarter,
changes in Trump’s policies could significantly affect the global supply chain.
Information source: 中華日報航運版20250711