Taiwan’s two main political parties, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Kuomintang (KMT), which recently reversed roles as the governing and opposition parties, have widely diverging positions on many issues. But on one point they are firmly in accord: the need for Taiwan to maintain its economic competitiveness by readying itself for eventual participation…
During tough economic times like the present, with Taiwan struggling to achieve even a 1% growth rate, this country is always at a marked disadvantage. Taiwan’s heavy reliance on international trade inevitably means that the state of the world economy has a massive impact on domestic economic health. Given that situation, however, it is crucial…
Taiwan’s long-term prosperity will require a shift to a new economic paradigm centered on the ability of knowledge-based industries to generate constant innovation. Yet many of the government policies and regulations in place are still geared toward the traditional factory production-line models of the past. That approach is already incompatible with current needs, let alone…
Continuing its efforts to enable Taiwan to overcome political obsacles to gain access to vital health and security-related information from international organizations, the United States government has committed to helping Taiwan participate as an observer in meetings of the International Criminal Police Organization, more commonly known as Interpol. On March 18, President Barack Obama signed…
With exports continuing to fall month after month from the previous year’s levels, and with negative growth in the past two quarters officially confirming that the Taiwan economy has fallen into recession, the new government taking office May 20 will need to place economic revitalization at the top of its policy agenda. One of the…
AmCham Taipei recently released the results of its sixth annual Business Climate Survey soliciting the views of key executives at its member companies (a report on the major findings can be found within this issue of TOPICS). The survey is always conducted at the end of the calendar year and made public in mid-January after…
Taiwan’s determination to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) multilateral trade pact at the earliest opportunity is becoming increasingly evident. Following release early in November of the full text of the agreement recently concluded among the United States, Japan, and 10 other countries, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Foreign Trade began studying the documents’…
After numerous rounds of grueling negotiations over seven years, the 12 Pacific Rim countries committed to coming together to form wide-ranging trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) were able to announce on October 5 that they had reached agreement on the contents. The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei quickly issued a press…
In an increasingly unfavorable overall environment of declining exports and anemic domestic consumption, Taiwan needs to be taking advantage of all possible ways to reinvigorate its economy. One policy suggestion that appears on almost every list of potential solutions is to heighten Taiwan’s capability to attract foreign direct investment. Although FDI is often mainly thought…
The annual talks under the U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) provide an invaluable platform for high-level dialogue on relevant issues in the interest of further strengthening the bilateral economic relationship. The Taiwan delegation to these TIFA Council meetings is headed by a Vice Minister of Economic Affairs and the American side by a…
