Each spring when The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham Taipei) publishes the latest edition of its Taiwan White Paper, it reviews the issues raised by its various committees in the previous year’s edition. The committees assign each issue a number representing the degree of progress over the past year. A (1) is the…
Among the flurry of executive orders signed by U.S. President Donald Trump since taking office was one issued March 31 aimed at reducing the American trade deficit with countries with which the United States runs a significant trade imbalance. The order assigns the Secretary of Commerce and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) –…
Like most people who have had the opportunity to live and work in Taiwan, members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei deeply appreciate the many virtues of this society. The Chamber’s recently conducted 2017 Business Climate Survey, the main results of which are reported in this issue, underscored this wide recognition of the…
Last October in this space, in an editorial entitled “A Significant Initiative,” AmCham Taipei hailed the Taiwan government’s decision to extend the notice-and-comment period for proposed new or revised regulations. Previously a mere 14 days, hardly enough time for stakeholders to absorb the content of the proposed new measures and to formulate a comprehensive response,…
Watching from the sidelines, Taiwan had cheered the efforts of the 12 countries negotiating to create the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in hope that this economy would be able to enter the multilateral trade agreement in a second round. Now, with the declaration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that he will announce the United States’ withdrawal…
To many people, the above abbreviations may simply look like alphabet soup, but the relationships they stand for can be expected to play a crucial role in shaping Taiwan’s economic future. The TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership, represents a potential opportunity for Taiwan to break out of its near isolation in terms of participation in free…
In an executive order likely to have far-reaching implications in improving the transparency and effectiveness of Taiwan’s regulatory process, the Executive Yuan in early September issued a directive extending the notice and comment period for proposed regulations from the current 14 days to 60 days. The new system took effect from the beginning of this…
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…
