Fastener World published a strongly-worded report on the crushing effects of U.S. wars — both trade and military — on fastener manufacturers in Taiwan.
“The war between the U.S. and Iran began the end of February, but for fastener manufacturers, the 50% steel & aluminum tariffs have already been a grueling battle lasting nearly a year,” Fastener World reports. “Facing this seemingly endless tariff war which started in mid-2025, Taiwanese fastener manufacturers must not only overcome rising distribution costs, but also confront multiple internal and external pressures.”
Issues include carbon reduction requirements from the EU CBAM, labor shortages in traditional industries fueled by the high-tech boom, and “relentless low-price competition from Chinese and emerging market rivals flooding global markets.”
“These challenges have placed unprecedented survival pressure on Taiwan fastener industry, which once had a glorious era. Some industry players openly warn that if these issues remain unaddressed, the much-touted ‘golden decade’ of future growth will only grow increasingly distant for Taiwan’s fastener industry.”
Taiwan fastener exports fell 4% to nearly 1.2 million tons in 2025, within the range of normal market fluctuations. However, January 2026 exports dropped 13%. Fastener exports to the U.S. and prominent EU countries saw double-digit declines (U.S. down 12.3%, Germany down 35.6%, and the Netherlands down 18%).
“If this situation is not due to a cooling local market or simply seasonal factors reducing demand, it may be time to worry whether this is an early warning sign of order loss or diversion,” according to Fastener World.
Over 60% of fastener manufacturing costs come from wire rod.
“Despite manufacturers’ persistent feedback, Taiwan CSC's quarterly wire rod pricing seems consistently out of touch with market realities.”
A four-fold surge in Taiwan’s imports of cold heading wire rod from South Korea “indicates that some Taiwanese manufacturers are no longer buying CSC’s wire rod, whose price remains 15-20% higher than that of South Korean alternatives even with discounts.”
Compounding this, the EU CBAM implemented in 2026 “significantly” increases operational costs associated with compliance.
“Taiwanese fastener manufacturers failing to narrow the cost gap with low-price competitors by addressing raw material expenses (the largest cost driver) may face increasingly challenging business conditions over the next 3-5 years,” according to Fastener World.
Rising hi-tech manufacturing wages, land cost increases, and electricity price hikes “have also left Taiwanese fastener manufacturers unable to offer competitive pricing.”
Taiwan’s fastener exports, which once peaked at 1.65 million tons annually, have hovered around 1.2 million tons in recent years.
“Previously, manufacturers would selectively take orders from importers or distributors. Now, they accept whatever OEM/ODM orders they can get (e.g., small batches, diverse products, special designs, and high-tech requirements), highlighting the situation against the backdrop of stagnant demand in the U.S. market, economic downturn in Europe, aggressive price competition from emerging economies, and Chinese companies expanding overseas production and sales networks to capture market share.”
