The Makers of iPhones and Laptops Are Prepping for a Trade War
- Pegatron and Inventec among those devising contingency plans
- Europe, Mexico and Southeast Asia are among the options
This article is for subscribers only.
From iPhones to computers, the manufacturing powerhouses behind much of the world’s electronics are preparing to move chunks of production away from China and toward such locales as Eastern Europe, Mexico and Southeast Asia.
Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou -- who became a billionaire by dint of making Apple Inc.’s gizmos -- started the ball rolling when he opened a $10 billion display plant in the heart of America, a move that now seems prescient. As tensions between the world’s two largest economies escalate, a growing cohort of his Taiwanese peers have drawn up plans to shift production abroad or devising contingencies for costly new facilities.