Hope on Horizon for Taiwan-Bulgaria Ties?
Despite reticence from Sofia on closer relations with Taipei, trade officials and businesspeople on both sides remain optimistic about progress.
Trade
Taiwan Business Brief – October 2022
BY JULIA BERGSTRÖM AND HUNG-WEI CHEN Exports Up, Confidence Down Export orders grew in August, mainly due to the launch of new Apple products and increasing demand for new technologies, which supported a 2% year-on-year increase to US$54.59 billion, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). This was the best-ever August performance by Taiwan’s…
Taiwan at a Record Level Among U.S. Trading Partners
In recent years, Taiwan has steadily climbed up the ladder of major trading partners of the United States. Between 2018 and 2021, the value of two-way trade in goods rose by 50% from US$76 billion to US$114 billion, according to U.S. government data. That growth enabled Taiwan to move up one notch each year in…
U.S. and Taiwan: 2022’s Reverberations from 1979
President Biden’s declaration during his trip to Asia last month that the United States would defend Taiwan has put the nature of the U.S. relationship with Taiwan back at the center of American foreign policy concerns. This development has fueled further discussion about how, apart from military involvement, the United States can best assist Taiwan….
Taiwan Sanctions in the Wake of the Russia-Ukraine War
Taiwan’s government has taken immediate steps to implement export controls and other measures to limit economic activity between Taiwan and Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. Within a day of Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it would join the U.S., EU countries, and other nations in…
Taiwan Economics in Brief – April 2022
By Dexter Murray Raising Interest Rates to Fight Inflation Taiwan’s Central Bank in late March raised its 2022 GDP growth forecast to 4.05%, up slightly from the 4.03% it predicted last December. The revision shows that despite slowing growth in Taiwan’s largest export markets and global uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, the Central Bank’s…
Taiwan and Lithuania Look to the Long Term on Consumer Goods Trade
Upsurge in demand for products from the Baltic state came on the back of warming diplomatic relations. However, considerable obstacles to agri-food imports remain. What does Lithuania mean to Taiwan? Prior to 2021, perhaps only the presence of several of the country’s basketball players in the NBA. However, following donation in July and October last…
Make Use of Taiwan’s Advantages
In a recent online panel hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and joined by AmCham Taiwan President Andrew Wylegala, former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Barbara Weisel put Taiwan’s chances of concluding a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the U.S. at “zero,” at least in the near term. Weisel noted that the appetite in…
Taiwan Government and International – February 2022
Nicaragua Severs Ties with Taiwan Nicaragua ended official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in December, stating that it “recognizes that there is only one single China.” It was the eighth country to sever ties with Taiwan since 2016, leaving the island with only 14 diplomatic partners. The break in relations comes as the U.S. and countries…
New Southbound Policy Offers New Prospects for 2022
Five years after its implementation, the Tsai government’s flagship policy initiative aimed at boosting engagement with South and Southeast Asian countries has delivered some encouraging economic results. But observers say that to fulfill the policy’s goal of developing more comprehensive relations, a greater focus on people-to-people ties is needed. Taiwan’s Executive Yuan reported this September…