The European Union (EU) is seeking to reduce tariffs on vehicles exported to the US, aiming to lower the rate to 15%. However, to secure that concession, Brussels must meet two key conditions set by Washington: dismantle trade barriers on American goods, and agree to a mutual recognition of automotive regulatory standards.

The Trump administration announced on August 18 the addition of 407 product categories to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act, imposing a 50% tariff on electric-assisted bicycles (e-bikes). But Merida, a major Taiwan-based bicycle manufacturer, said the impact on its exports from this tariff expansion is relatively limited.

Advanced packaging technologies are evolving at breakneck speed, with attention now shifting beyond wafer-level processes to panel and printed circuit board (PCB) platforms. A new entrant, CoWoP (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Platform PCB), has emerged as a potential disruptor to TSMC’s mainstream CoWoS packaging solution. Some industry observers believe CoWoP could reshape the PCB supply chain and even challenge CoPoS (Chip-on-Panel-on-Substrate), which has long been considered the most likely successor to CoWoS.