Semiconductor Supply Chain & Tariffs: US trade deficit widened to $88.6bn in July, driven by a surge in imports of computers, semiconductors and other AI build-out gear; the US deficit with Taiwan hit a record $20.7bn as Washington weighs new “targeted” semiconductor tariffs that could reward firms that manufacture in America. US-Taiwan Chip Investment Push: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Taiwan plans to move 40% of chip production to the US and is lining up another $20–30bn in investment, while Taiwan’s Cabinet also advanced a supplementary budget tied to defense autonomy and unmanned systems. AI Chips in the Spotlight: Google is accelerating mass production of its next-gen TPU (TPU 8i) with Taiwanese server supply-chain partners, as Nvidia doubles down on the AI stack—agreeing to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9bn and investing $3.5bn in MediaTek to deepen AI interconnect and memory standards. Defense Tech Sourcing: Taiwan’s role in US drone and autonomous systems supply chains is rising fast, with industry saying Taiwanese components are moving from under 1% of Shield AI bills of materials in 2024 toward 25% soon. Data Center Cooling: Lite-On bought a 25% stake in Poland’s DCX Liquid Cooling for about $176m to build integrated power-and-cooling platforms for AI data centers. Local Industry Signals: CLF shipped Taiwan’s first 5,000-ton ultra-large injection molding machine to a top US logistics supplier, highlighting Taiwan’s heavy-industrial manufacturing depth. Risk & Regulation Watch: AM Best kept a stable outlook on Taiwan’s non-life insurers amid TIS and IFRS 17, citing conservative asset allocation and moderate equity exposure.