Taiwan’s Compal, Inventec mull US expansion to counter Trump tariffs with eyes on Texas

Texas is seen as a top choice for the Taiwanese laptop because of the state’s power infrastructure and proximity to Mexico

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A demonstrator holds flags of Taiwan and the US in Burlingame, California, on January 14, 2017. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:21pm, 21 Jan 2025Updated: 1:02pm, 21 Jan 2025

Taiwanese contract laptop makers Compal and Inventec might expand into the United States with Texas eyed as one of the top locations, their executives said, as they prepare for President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.

Trump, who became US president again on Monday, has rattled companies and authorities around the world by vowing to impose tariffs of 10 per cent on global imports into the US – duties that trade experts said would upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation against US exports.

His threat of 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico, in particular, has worried several Taiwanese companies, as many have invested in domestic manufacturing to build components that go into electric vehicle to artificial intelligence (AI) servers for North America.

Speaking to reporters before the company’s annual year-end party this month, Anthony Peter Bonadero, president and CEO of Compal, said that they had spoken to several southern US states about possible investment and were seeing how Trump’s tariffs against Mexico unfold.

“Texas is a leading candidate just because of the power that they’ve done. Samsung is putting a giant fab in, and that’s created a lot of extra power and infrastructure there. Texas is the only state in the US that has its own grid. And so, we continue to evaluate that. But no decisions have been made yet.”

Jack Tsai, president of Inventec, which makes AI servers that use Nvidia chips, also told reporters this month that they had started evaluating locations for investment in the US and were also favouring Texas for its proximity to Mexico and power infrastructure.