iPhone Assembler's Shipments Face Scrutiny By Chinese Custom Officials After Executive Met Nancy Pelosi: Report

Apple Inc's AAPL iPhone assembler Pegatron Corp PGTRF said its mainland China plant is operating normally after reports indicated that shipments to the factory were being held for scrutiny by Chinese customs officials.

What Happened: After a senior Pegatron executive met Nancy Pelosi in Taipei — a Nikkie Asia report citing sources said that the shipments to its Suzhou facility were being checked to see if they violated a rule against cartons carrying the words "Taiwan" or the "Republic of China." 

See Also: Xi Jinping's Government Sanctions Nancy Pelosi For Visiting Taiwan And 'Disregarding China's Serious Concerns'

Pegatron — which makes a wide range of products for many American companies, including Microsoft Corporation MSFT and Tesla Inc TSLA — said the production was not halted, and there is no stoppage in shipments.

Pegatron Vice Chairman Jason Chen and other bigwigs of the Taiwanese chip industry, including TSMC TSM founder Morris Chang and Chairman Mark Liu, met Pelosi at lunch hosted by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen on Wednesday.

The Nikkei report pointed out that several component suppliers in Taiwan also received urgent requests from their customers on Friday morning, asking them to comply with the government's labeling requirements.

According to notices from manufacturers citing the authorities, the boxes, shipping documents, cartons, and export and import declaration forms cannot show the words "Republic of China," "R.O.C.," or "Taiwan."

"If the word 'R.O.C.' appears, the shipment will be held and checked and cannot be shipped," one of the notices said.

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