Before the U.S. government announcement last month that it would sell 66 F-16 Viper jet fighters to Taiwan in a deal valued at US$8 billion, there hadn’t been an American sale of advanced military aircraft to the island since the George H.W. Bush administration agreed to supply an earlier version of the F-16 in 1992….
The AmCham Taipei CEO Mission that visited Washington, D.C., this June found growing interest among American government officials in seeking ways to strengthen bilateral relations with Taiwan. As reported in this issue of TOPICS, there now appears to be greater understanding and appreciation in Washington of Taiwan’s strategic value in the Indo-Pacific as a staunch…
If you’re waiting for things to go back to the way they were a couple years ago, it’s not going to happen. That was one of the key messages we heard during this summer’s CEO Mission to Washington, D.C., formerly known as “The Doorknock.” Officials in the Trump administration along with Democrats and Republicans in…
Trade War Sends Q2 to Sluggish Start Normally June is a peak season for exports of electronics items, the bulwark of the Taiwan economy. But the value of export orders received in June fell by 4.5% from the level of the same month last year to come to US$38.5 billion, the eighth straight month to…
Momentum Slows Two key institutions in April trimmed their forecasts for Taiwan’s GDP growth in 2019, citing falling exports as global demand for consumer electronics slumped amid a prolonged U.S.-China trade war. Standard Chartered Bank cut an earlier GDP forecast of 2.5% to 2.1%, with its chief Taiwan-based economist saying that the first quarter’s 4.2%…
Forty years ago, AmCham Taipei members found themselves in the middle of a giant geopolitical shift – the new diplomatic alliance between Washington and Beijing. The ramifications for Taiwan were significant, creating serious challenges that are described well in this issue of TOPICS. The heroic way AmCham members stepped up to meet the challenges is…
Each spring when AmCham Taipei conducts its Doorknock trip to Washington DC, one of the most important stops on the itinerary is the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) a block away from the White House. USTR is the U.S. government agency responsible for developing and coordinating trade policy and for carrying out trade…
It’s still hard to assess the prospective impact on Taiwan of the U.S.-China tariff battle. As the U.S.-China tariff war unfolds, observers in Taiwan have been searching for clues as to what the impact on the Taiwan economy will be. Heavily trade-dependent Taiwan, after all, is in a precarious position in the middle. It regards…
The 2018 AmCham Doorknock delegation stressed the recent progress on resolving White Paper issues. AmCham Taipei’s 2018 Doorknock delegation had a positive message to share as it made its rounds in Washington D.C. the week of June 18. The group, led by Chamber President William Foreman, opened most of its 45 meetings in the U.S….
The American withdrawal from the nascent Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade block almost immediately after President Trump assumed office early this year left Taiwan without a concrete, compelling objective to work toward in its economic relationship with the United States. Until then, Taiwan had a clear focus – its hope that it would be able to…
