Taiwan and the US share a common belief in ‘free, fair and reciprocal’ trade

Posted in: Lead Articles Started by Franz Fricke

Taiwan and the US share a common belief in ‘free, fair and reciprocal’ trade

Taiwan continues to impress global markets through its focus on innovation, technology and stability. An expanding economy, GDP is expected to grow at 2.27 percent in 2018. The self-governing island nation seeks to secure its position as the most prominent of the ‘Four Asian Tigers’ -Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea.

As America’s tenth largest trading partner with two-way total trade amounting to US$ 84.9 Billion, the symbiotic relationship between The US and Taiwan is undeniably intertwined. Furthermore, the numbers recently increased: US exports to Taiwan rose 5.3 percent and imports from Taiwan rose 9.6 percent in the first 10 months of 2017.

With an economic foundation based on semiconductor manufacturing and ICT products and components (of which America is a huge consumer), Taiwan is integrated with the supply chains of leading US technology brands.

According to Albert Chang, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham), Taiwan and the US share a common belief in ‘free, fair and reciprocal’ trade. He urges Washington to continue strengthening economic ties with Taiwan by entering into a bilateral FTA-like agreement.

‘To a large extent, the technology sector, which is now the backbone of the Taiwanese economy, evolved from the electronics industry which US companies established here in the 1960’s and 1970’s’, says Chang. ‘The engineers and managers trained in those operations went on to work in domestic Taiwan based companies. Today, the importance of and strong cooperation between Silicon Valley and Taiwan is well known and there is enormous opportunity for more partnerships through joint ventures, licensing and strategic alliances’.

Albert Chang, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham)

‘We hope that after the conclusion of the current NAFTA negotiations, the US government will look to Taiwan as a potential partner and enter into a mutually-beneficial bilateral trade agreement. We expect to see to more Taiwanese enterprises look beyond mainland China and consider investment opportunities in the US’.

As the US and Taiwan continue to build on their strong economic ties, this long and rich history of mutual respect and prosperity continues to benefit both partners.

‘Taiwan is often overlooked due to political complications, its exclusion from the United Nations and its market size compared with mainland China’,concludes Chang. ‘However, as an economic entity and a member of the international trading community, Taiwan is gaining attention through increased engagement with the rest of the world’.