The Development of International Trade in the Republic of China 2007-2008
Table of Contents
02Preface
03Foreign Trade Overview
03Review of Trade and Economic Development
03Developments in Foreign Trade
03(I)Overall Performance
03(II)Major Exports
04(III)Major Imports
04(IV)Major Trading Partners
06A Locomotive for Trade and Economic Development
06BOFT's Mission
08Organizational Chart of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA
09Enhancing Trade Relations
09Participation in International Economic and Trade Organizations and Their Activities
09(I)World Trade Organization (WTO)
10(II)Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
12(III)Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
12Strengthening Bilateral Trade and Economic Relations
13Promoting the Signing of Free Trade Agreements
14Improving Cross-Strait Interaction and Gradually Advancing Toward Normal Economic and Trade Relations
15Promoting Trade
15 Implement the“Competitive Industries Develop Overseas Markets Program”
16Assisting Companies to Expand International Markets
17Integrating the Private Sector's Efforts to Explore New Markets
17 The “Branding Taiwan” Plan
18 Strengthening the competitiveness of professional exhibition
18Improving the Trade Environment
18Implementing Trade Liberalization
18Promoting Trade Facilitation
19Establishing a Global Trade Information Network
19Developing Human Resources
19 CreatingEconomic Prosperity
20 Appendices
20Appendix 1: Ministry of Economic Affairs Overseas Offices
20 Appendix 2: Bureau of Foreign Trade Contact Numbers
Preface
In 2006, benefiting from stable international economic development, Taiwan's overall tradeperformance shone brightly. The total trade value for 2006, US$426.7 billion, was the first timethat Taiwan passed the US$400 billion mark. Taiwan's exports and imports respectively reachedUS$224.0 billion and US$202.7 billion, both at double-digit growth rates. The trade surplus exceededUS$21billion. The original trade targets for 2006 were readily achieved.
Also in 2006, the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) saw considerable results from its efforts to promotetrade. First of all, in the area of signing a free trade agreements (FTAs) and strengthening bilateraltrade and economic relations, Taiwan signed an FTA with Nicaragua. Our FTA with theGuatemala went into force, and we concluded trilateral FTA negotiations with El Salvadorand Honduras. Meanwhile, regarding participation in international economic and tradeorganizations. Taiwan had its first WTO Trade Policy Review (TPR) Meeting and receivedpraise from WTO Members for being a “TPR model.” In addition, we participated in theTPR meetings of other Members. Taiwan actively took part in numerous WTO meetings andin consultations with countries acceding to the WTO, and used WTO Mechanisms to
secure Taiwan's rights and protect its interests. In addition, Taiwan strove to becomean observer on various OECD committees in order to strengthen our interactionand cooperation with the OECD. Taiwan also actively participated in manyAPEC meetings and events and vied to host meetings in Taiwan. It continued topromote the APEC Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC) project in order to assistdeveloping economies within APEC to transform the digital divide into digitalopportunity and to help our industries expand their international opportunities.
In the area of trade facilitation, BOFT built up a virtual one-stop platform, FacileTrade Net, which can provide e-services in customs clearance and licensing.At present, around 80% of all export and import application procedures maybe handled electronically. In the area of trade promotion, in 2006, Taiwanestablished a branding venture capital fund, and it continued to implementthe “Branding Taiwan Development Plan” to work hand-in-hand with theprivate sector in making “Made in Taiwan” a mark of international prestige.In line with the “development of overseas markets for our competitiveindustries program,” in 2006, BOFT chose eight target markets for enhancedexport promotional efforts in order to add fresh momentum to Taiwan's exportsand maintain trade equilibrium.
Looking to the future, the BOFT will continue to focus its energies on thefollowing tasks: actively participating in the Doha Round of WTO negotiationsas well as APEC and OECD activities; strengthening bilateral relations andnegotiating FTAs; promoting trade liberalization and facilitation; and implementingexport promotion measures to build up trade networks, upgrade exportcompetitiveness, maintain our good performance in foreign trade, sustain Taiwan'strading vitality, and create new economic highs.
Since trends in international trade shift quickly, the BOFT is publishing this handbook
and posting it on the Internet (at to keep everyone informedof the latest developments in our trade policy within the context of the domesticand global economic and trade situation. If the reader has any opinion or suggestionconcerning the content of this handbook, please feel free to contact BOFT.
Chih-peng Huang
Director General, Bureau of Foreign Trade
Ministry of Economic Affairs,
July2007
Foreign Trade Overview
Review of Trade and Economic Development
In December 2006, Global Insight Inc. predicted that the global economic growth rate
for 2006 would reach 3.8%, which is higher than the average of past years. Although
international oil prices briefly surged to a new record in the 2nd quarter, they began to
stabilize in the 3rd quarter. Meanwhile, the global economy continued to grow steadily. In
2006, economic performance varied from region to region around the world, with Japan and
the EU experiencing robust recoveries. Under these comfortable circumstances, Taiwan
reached its projected growth rate of 4.4% for the year, while the US economy grew 3.3%,
Japan 2.0%, Mainland China 10.5%, the EU 2.8%, and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) 6.2%. The most important factors affecting the global economy in 2006
included international oil prices and the depreciation of the US dollar. Rising oil prices had a
major impact on commodity prices in many countries. After falling from their $75/ barrel high
in July, oil prices fluctuated around a still-high $60, which forced many countries to adopt
tighter Monetary Policies. As for the American dollar, the accumulation of huge, long-term
current account deficit in the US is causing the dollar to weaken, which will affect economic
development worldwide .
In the area of international trade, the gradual recovery of the global economy in 2006 led to
stronger growth. Global Insight Inc. projects 15.9% and 15.2% growth respectively for global
exports and imports in 2006. For 2007, Global Insight Inc. predicts that the growth in global
exports and imports will be 11.5% and 10.9%
Developments in Foreign Trade
Ⅰ Overall Performance
Due to the gradual recovery of the global economy, Taiwan's imports and exports
have also grown steadily. In 2006, Taiwan's foreign trade totaled US$426.71 billion,
increasing 12.0% from the previous year. Exports grew 12.9% to US$224.00
billion, and imports grew 11.0% to US$202.71 billion. Taiwan's trade surplus stood
at US$21.29 billion, an increase of 34.6%. This demonstrated that Taiwan's trade
continues to thrive. Generally in 2006, Taiwan's exports and imports exceeded 2005
levels and even hit record levels because of strong turnaround in the domestic and
international economy in the latter half of the year.
Ⅱ Major Exports
In 2006, our largest export category, electronic products, continued its steady growth
to register a 23.2% rise over 2005 to US$62.82 billion, or 28.0% of total exports.
Optical, photographic, measuring and medical instruments, a category that has
been growing rapidly in recent years, has already replaced machinery products as
the second-largest export category. This makes up a 7.6% share of total exports,
which represents a growth of 30.0% to US$17.09 billion. The third-largest category,
iron and steel, increased by 11.4% to US$14.74 billion, and as a consequence this
category accounted for 6.6% of exports. The fourth leading category, machinery,
grew 6.5% to account for 6.4% of total exports. In addition, IT&C products dropped
9.9%, so that their export share declined to 4.4 %. Because IT&C industry has been
shifting production of many items overseas in recent years, Taiwan's exports of these
products are gradually decreasing. (See Figure 1).
Ⅲ Major Imports
In 2006, the largest import category, electronic products increased 10.3% to
US$36.77 billion, comprising 18.1% of our total imports. Due to rising international
prices, crude oil jumped dramatically by 29.3%, so that it became our second
leading import category; total crude oil imports accounted for 11.6% of total imports.
The third-largest import category, machinery, grew by 3.5% over 2005 to reach
US$17.91 billion, or 8.8 % of total exports. The fourth leading category, iron and
steel, dropped 3.4%, so that its import share declined to 5.0%. The fifth and sixth
leading categories, organic chemicals and optical, photographic, measuring and
medical instruments, increased 13.7% and 5.6% respectively. In sum, in 2006, in
all of the top import categories except for iron and steel, which declined; Taiwan's
imports showed a moderate recovery (see Figure 2).
Ⅳ Major Trading Partners
In 2006, Taiwan's major trading partners were Mainland China (including Hong
Kong), the US, Japan, the members of ASEAN and the 25 countries of the EU.
Together these trading partners account for more than 80% of our exports and more
than 70% of our imports. Among them, our exports to Mainland China (including
Hong Kong) and ASEAN exceeded the overall average, while our exports to the US
and EU did not meet the overall average. Our exports to Mainland China (including
Hong Kong) grew 14.8% to account for 39.8% of total exports in 2006. In recent
years, as our exports to Mainland China have grown rapidly, Mainland China has
replaced the US as our top export market and our most important source of trade
surplus. By contrast, our exports to the US grew 11.2%, so that the US share of
our total exports dropped to 14.4%. Our exports to ASEAN, however, grew by a
significant 13.8%. Exports to the EU grew 10.2%, while exports to Japan increased
7.9%. Meanwhile, on the import side, imports from Japan, Taiwan's leading source
of imports, grew by 7.1% to account for 22.8% of our total imports and to create a
trade deficit of US$29.99 billion. The US was our second leading source of imports;
imports from the US grew by 0.5% to account for an 11.2% share of imports, which
also caused our trade surplus with the US to increase slightly. Imports from ASEAN,
Mainland China (including Hong Kong), and the EU showed increases of 10.4%,
20.1%, and 1.4% respectively, and their share of total imports stood at 11.5%,
13.2%, and 8.8% respectively (see table below).
.
Figure 1Major Taiwan Exports in 2006
Figure 2Major Taiwan Imports in 2006
Table: ROC Trade with Major Trading Partners in 2006
Unit: US$ billion dollars:%
Monetary Amounts
/ Portion of Total ROC Trade/Exports/Imports / Percentage of Increase/DecreaseTotal / Exports / Imports / Trade deficit (surplus) / Total / Exports / Imports / Total / Exports / Imports / Trade deficit (surplus)
Total trade / 426.7 / 224.0 / 202.7 / 21.3 / 100.0 / 100.0 / 100.0 / 12.0 / 12.9 / 11.0 / 34.6
US / 55.0 / 32.4 / 22.7 / 9.7 / 12.9 / 14.4 / 11.2 / 9.4 / 11.2 / 7.1 / 22.1
Japan / 62.6 / 16.3 / 46.3 / -30.0 / 14.7 / 7.3 / 22.8 / 2.3 / 7.9 / 0.5 / -3.1
Hong Kong & Mainland China / 115.9 / 89.2 / 26.7 / 62.5 / 27.2 / 39.8 / 13.2 / 16.0 / 14.8 / 20.1 / 12.7
ASEAN nations / 54.0 / 30.7 / 23.3 / 7.4 / 12.6 / 13.7 / 11.5 / 12.3 / 13.8 / 10.4 / 26.1
EU nations / 42.4 / 24.6 / 17.8 / 6.8 / 9.9 / 11.0 / 8.8 / 6.3 / 10.2 / 1.4 / 42.7
I. The numbers in this table do not include re-export and re-import statistics.
II. For the latest statistics, please consult the BOFT website at
A Locomotive for Trade and Economic Development
BOFT's Mission
BOFT, officially established under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on 1 January
1969, is responsible for drafting Taiwan's international trade policies and managing traderelated
activities. Over the past few decades, BOFT's role and position have undergone
continual adjustments to meet the needs of the shifting international economic and trade
environment. BOFT's major functions include:
（Ⅰ）Drawing up and implementing trade policies and regulations;
（Ⅱ）Participating in the activities of international trade organizations and enhancing bilateraltrade relations;
（Ⅲ）Handling and coordinating trade negotiations, consultations, and disputes;
（Ⅳ）Negotiating and signing free-trade agreements;
（Ⅴ）Administering the import/export regime and providing guidance to trading businesses;
（Ⅵ）Promoting foreign trade, developing overseas markets, and creating an environment
conducive to the development of foreign trade through the building of international
exhibition halls, promoting paperless trading and trade facilitation, establishing global
trade information websites, and so on;
（Ⅶ）Supervising and coordinating MOEA's overseas offices; and
（Ⅷ）Communicating with and guiding trade-related groups and organizations.
Organizational Chart of the Bureau of Foreign Trade, MOEA
Enhancing Trade Relations
Participation in International Economic and TradeOrganizations and Their Activities
Ⅰ World Trade Organization (WTO)
1.Actively Participating in the Multilateral Trade Negotiations of the DohaRound
The Multilateral Trade Negotiations of the Doha Round was officially launched
during the Doha Ministerial Conference in 2002. Since then, several important
resolutions have been adopted, including the “July Package”in July 2004
and the “Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration”in December 2005. However,
key issues related to agriculture, NAMA and services remain deadlocked.
Consequently, reaching a consensus by the scheduled time was impossible.
The members reluctantly decided to suspend the Doha Round negotiations in
July 2006. Fortunately, Director-General Pascal Lamy announced in February
2007 that there would be a full resumption of the Doha negotiations. He called
on all Members to proceed with intense negotiations on key issues, in the
hope that the Doha Round would quickly reach a successful conclusion.
In fact, from the time of Taiwan's formal accession to the WTO in January
2002 to the end of December 2006, our government dispatched 640
representatives from relevant departments to actively participate in WTO
Ministerial Conference and General Council meetings, and various WTO
councils, committees and working groups. We also actively participate in the
special sessions of the Doha negotiations. Taiwan also submitted 163 position
papers and suggestions for discussion among members. At these meetings,
we fully expressed our concerns to ensure that Taiwan acquired the greatest
benefits possible from these talks.
Multilateral trade liberalization is an important goal for Taiwan. Trade accounted
for 75% of our nation's GDP in 2006, and it is therefore seen as very meaningful
and beneficial to our economy. The Doha Round of negotiations covers nine
major topics, and BOFT will continue to coordinate various organizations in
future talks to help formulate new international economic and trade principles,
and to open up deeper and broader international trade opportunities.
The Doha Round of negotiations is defined as a development round; its goal is
to create an environment that is conducive to economic and social growth for
developing and underdeveloped countries. Such an important concept cannot
be ignored, and we also hope to make contributions to the achievement of this
goal.
2. Participating in Consultations with Countries Acceding to the WTO
Countries applying for WTO accession are required to open their markets,
reduce tariffs, and allow foreign enterprises fair competition in their markets
through a process of bilateral consultations. Immediately after its WTO
accession, Taiwan became actively involved in the working party meetings
on the accession of 13 other countries seeking to enter the WTO, including
Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Laos, and Belarus, among others, in
order to win greater market opportunities for Taiwan’s businesses. Thus far,
Taiwan has completed bilateral consultations and signed bilateral agreements on
WTO accession with Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Vietnam and the Ukraine
respectively on June, 2003, December, 2003, November , 2004, September ,
2005, and December , 2006.
3.Participating in WTO Trade Policy ReviewMeetings
Taiwan had its first WTO Trade Policy Review (TPR) Meeting on June 20th and
22nd, 2006. A 32-member delegation led by Mr. Steve Ruey-Long Chen—then
Vice Minister and now Minister of Economic Affairs—responded to questions
posed by other WTO Members; they introduced the development of Taiwan's
economic system and the role Taiwan has played in international economic
activities since its accession to the WTO. Delegates also answered questions on
restrictions on Chinese imports and other restrictive policies and expressed our
willingness to negotiate with China under the WTO framework, in order to solve
bilateral economic and trade issues. As a result of its excellent performance, the
mission received praise from WTO Members, and the WTO circulated a press
release lauding it as a “TPR model.”Taiwan has also participated in the TPR
meetings of other Members. In 2006, we attended the TPR meetings for 17
WTO Members, including the USA, China and Colombia..
4.Using WTO Mechanisms to Secure Taiwan’s Rights and Protect Its Interests
settlement procedures by participating as a third party in 34 dispute settlement
cases. At the same time, in response to complaints from local businesses that
they have been treated unfairly by other countries, or that other countries'trade
measures might be in violation of WTO regulations, the government has,
following internal discussions among relevant parties and consultations
with legal professionals, initiated conflict resolution procedures under the
WTO dispute settlement framework. For example, since its accession to
the WTO,Taiwan has registered two complaints (the Steel Global Safeguard
Measures of the United States, the 7 anti-dumping measures of India) in dispute
settlement cases and as the 3rd Party to 32 dispute settlement cases under theWTO dispute settlement mechanism.
In addition, via bilateral negotiations, Taiwan's government has persuaded trading partners to
adopt trade relief measures, based on the principles of justice and objectivity. For example,
in May 2006, Taiwan requested bilateral negotiations with South Korea, in response to that
nation's AD investigation against Taiwan-made draw-textured yarn (DTY). As a result, South
Korea agreed not to impose provisional AD duties on this product, and in the end, it lowered
the duty rate by 50%.
5.Future Goals
Taiwan expects to expand benefits for domestic industries and to formulate more
comprehensive national policies by taking advantage of the WTO membership. We also hope
to cultivate more international trade talents to strengthen our relations with foreign countries
and enhance our overall competitiveness. In the Doha Round negotiations, we look forward
to forming alliances with other crucial Members whose positions on trade issues are similar
to ours. In this way, we may maintain our trade interests while maximizing our influence. As