By Faith Hung and Emily Chan

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s export orders rose more than expected in September, increasing for an eighth consecutive month, as the island’s growth as an essential hub for the artificial intelligence (AI) industry offset worries about U.S. tariffs.

Export orders in September rose 30.5% from a year earlier to $70.22 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday, far surpassing analysts’ expectations for a 17.8% increase.

Orders for goods from Taiwan, home of the world’s largest contract chipmaker TSMC and other tech companies, are considered a bellwether of global technology demand.

A general tariff rate of 20% has been imposed on Taiwan’s exports by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Taiwan’s government has said the 20% tariff is “tempo

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