THE new normal of global trade is that there are few safe harbors.

That’s the lesson Eclat Textile Co. is learning. The sportswear supplier to Nike Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc. exited China in 2016 as conditions weren’t ideal for manufacturing, deciding instead to bulk up in Vietnam. Now, as the global trade war heats up, Eclat finds itself vulnerable again and needs to move beyond Vietnam.

“Judging from the global situation, the most important thing now is diversification,” chairman Hung Cheng-hai said. “Clients also want us to diversify risks and don’t want production bases to be in one country. Now 50 percent of our garments are made in Vietnam, so we are not diversified enough.”

Heightened trade tensions between the United States and China have disrupted global supply lines, forcing companies to pivot production out of the Asian nation and into other countries. But with Donald Trump hardening his stance on Vietnam, calling it the biggest trade abuser and slapping higher import duties on steel, firms are realizing that no nation is tariff-proof enough to serve as a global supply hub.

Eclat is now looking to set up multiple, smaller regional manufacturing hubs that can be nimble in servicing clients. The firm won’t consider adding plants or expanding in Vietnam in the next three years, Hung said.

The firm instead will invest in new facilities in Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia or Cambodia. It expects to invest US$80 million in setting up 120 production lines in the region, with the board deciding specific locations later this year, Hung said.

Although the United States and China have resumed talks on a deal, there are growing signs that the global supply chain — long reliant on China as the workshop to the world — is being permanently transformed. Intel Corp. has said it’s reviewing its global supply chain, while Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are among those reportedly working on a Plan B. (SD-Agencies)