Svensk Elektronik and Semicon Sweden in talks with the government about the EU-US trade agreement

Uncertainty around tariffs threatens the future of the electronics industry.

At the end of August, the Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade invited Benjamin Dousa Swedish companies and organizations to talks about the new trade agreement between the EU and the US. Semicon Sweden participated in the meeting via Sofia Persson Björk, chairman of Svensk Elektronik, together with representatives from Linc, Mobility Sweden, SSAB, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and Fjällräven.

The purpose of the meeting was to hear the business community's views on the agreement, where tariffs on around 15 percent has been introduced on several goods. For the electronics industry, the situation is particularly difficult because it is not yet clear which products can be exempted.

– There is great uncertainty for our members regarding tariffs, especially regarding the exemptions for certain electronics products. This makes it difficult to plan long-term and make important investment decisions. Our companies need stable and clear rules, says Sofia Persson Björk.

Taiwan – a key for Europe's electronics industry

Sofia Persson Björk also raised the issue of Taiwan, which is one of the world's most important producers of semiconductors through companies such as TSMC. She pointed out that Taiwan has traditionally had strong ties to the United States, which could be a challenge for the EU.

– I stressed how important it is for the EU and Sweden to build good trade relations with Taiwan. If they only prioritize the US, the EU risks ending up in a dependency. To secure our access to important technology, we need a strong and long-term relationship with Taiwan.

As Europe's electronics industry is heavily dependent on Taiwanese semiconductors, while the EU is trying to become more self-sufficient, this is an issue of great importance.

Common concerns from the business community

The companies and organizations that participated represent many different parts of the Swedish business community – from heavy industry to consumer goods. All expressed concern about how uncertain trade policies, new tariffs and geopolitical unrest are affecting investments, jobs and competitiveness.

For Svensk Elektronik, the message was clear: Without stable trading conditions and strong relationships with important players like Taiwan, Sweden and the EU risk falling behind in the global electronics industry..

Novelty Semicon Sweden