The European Commission officially introduced a minimum price commitment mechanism in mid-January 2026 for imports of battery electric vehicles (BEV) from China to Europe, as an alternative to punitive tariffs of up to 35%.

Taiwan’s small and medium enterprises — the backbone of the island’s economy — are getting a major government push into the AI era. On February 12, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) unveiled a four-part plan to help SMEs adopt AI and navigate a world reshaped by labor shortages and supply chain upheaval. The roadmap goes beyond broad ambition, laying out concrete measures industry by industry, with a clear goal: break through the bottlenecks that have long stalled transformation.

The Pentagon briefly published an updated list of Chinese companies alleged to have ties to the People’s Liberation Army, then withdrew it within an hour. The episode highlights Washington’s attempt to ease trade tensions with Beijing while maintaining pressure on technology and national security ahead of an expected April meeting between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Rising DRAM and CPU prices are feeding through the display supply chain, with AUO estimating that end-product prices could increase by 10% to 30%. While LCD panel prices have firmed on tighter supply, upstream semiconductor cost inflation is reducing demand visibility for consumer electronics in 2026.