TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The global automotive industry is hitting bottlenecks in supply chains, according to a panel of experts at the fifth online webinar of the "Taiwan-US Business Forum in the Midwest."

The event was held to discuss cooperation between industry players in each country on fasteners, hardware, and supply chains, according to a CNA report.

The forum is part of an ongoing series, first launched in March and co-hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago and local media outlet Crain's Chicago Business, and aims to meet the future needs of the industry in the U.S.

The webinar was hosted by Jim Kirk, the president and editor-in-chief of Crane Chicago Business Daily, and was attended by three American industry leaders along with officials from Taiwan’s representative office. Together, they met virtually and covered how the two countries are dealing with the new economic realities of post-COVID trade and manufacturing.

Jiang Sen (江森), head of the Chicago office, said Taiwan’s fastener and hardware industries prioritize the protection of intellectual property rights. In addition, after years of optimizing supply chains, Taiwanese companies can innovate and adapt to buyers' needs. Jiang said that Taiwan can not only support America’s traditional industries, like automobiles and aviation but also emerging industries, like electric vehicles.

Panelists said Taiwan has an excellent industrial cluster and although the U.S. industry can temporarily fill gaps when supply chains are tight, it cannot replace Taiwan’s production capacity. Although there has been a recent emphasis on increasing the proportion of domestic products, dual-source procurement is still the ultimate goal. The United States needs Taiwan’s production capacity to meet its future infrastructure needs.