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…
Each year since 1996 – usually shortly after release of the Taiwan White Paper – AmCham Taipei has organized a week-long “Doorknock” mission to Washington, D.C. to exchange views with U.S. government executive agencies, Congressional offices, think tanks, and others concerned with U.S.-Taiwan bilateral economic relations. The trip is always extremely useful. It gives AmCham…
The June issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS includes the annual Taiwan White Paper, an assessment of Taiwan’s business climate in both the macro level and sector by sector. Download it here. Foreword In recent years during the preparation of the annual Taiwan White Paper, AmCham Taipei has reviewed the degree of progress on the various…
As regular readers of this publication are well aware, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei is convinced that Taiwan’s participation in the emerging regional trade grouping known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be absolutely essential for the future well-being of this economy. Exclusion from the TPP in the years ahead will diminish the…
AmCham Taipei had expected that by the time this April issue of Taiwan Business TOPICS was published, the 2015 TIFA Council meeting under the U.S.-Taiwan Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) would already have been conducted. The 2013 round of those bilateral trade negotiations was held in March that year in Taipei, and the 2014…
For two days in late January, a total of 173 delegates – government officials, legislators, scholars, business leaders, and representatives of civic groups – attended a National Energy Conference called by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The group debated the crucial issue facing Taiwan following President Ma Ying-jeou’s decision last year to suspend construction of…
In the recently released 2015 Index of Economic Freedom conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank The Heritage Foundation in association with the Wall Street Journal, Taiwan received its best score ever, ranking as the world’s 14th freest economy (up two places from last year) and fifth in the Asia-Pacific. The exercise measures such factors…
In recent years Taiwan has made great strides in bolstering its protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) by passing new legislation, tightening enforcement, and raising awareness among judges and prosecutors of the importance of the issue. The improvements in copyright, patent, and trademark protection – and in the past few years of trade secrets –…
