Total trade volume between the EU and Taiwan contracted 9 percent last year and European exports to Taiwan fell for the first time since 2001 because of the global economic downturn, the Taipei-based European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) said in a report.
Based on general trade barometers, the 9 percent decline was significant, said Guy Ledoux, head of the EETO.
The World Bank said the volume of global trade rose 3 percent in last year and EU trade with Japan decreased by 4 percent and remained unchanged with South Korea.
“While the economic downturn is the main explanation for this downturn, it is more difficult to understand why EU-Taiwan trade has been more affected than EU trade with other partners,” Ledoux said.
He said the steeper decline could be related to the type of products traded between the EU and Taiwan, which may have been more sensitive to the economic downturn.
The 2009 EU-Taiwan trade and investment fact file on 2008 EU-Taiwan trade also showed that Taiwan fell from No. 13 to No. 21 among the EU’s trading partners, while the EU remained Taiwan’s fourth largest trading partner.
“The drop in ranking mainly results from the jump by oil and gas exporting countries — Algeria, Ukraine and Libya — on the back of high oil prices in the first part of 2008,” the report said.
“This will come back to normal next year, ” Ledoux said.
The structure of trade showed the EU remained a key industrial partner for Taiwan, with the most imported products being office and telecommunications equipment and the biggest exports being power and non-electrical machinery and chemicals.
Germany remained Taiwan’s largest trading partner in the EU because of its leading position in machine tools and other mechanical equipment.
The report said, however, that the EU had not exploited the full potential of the Taiwanese market.
“Although Taiwan in 2008 took steps on the way to joining the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement, there are still a number of market access issues. European businesses, for their part, do not sufficiently explore the potential of the Taiwanese market,” the report said.
As to investment flows, the EU was no longer the biggest holder of FDI in Taiwan. With its 26.35 percent share of total FDI in Taiwan at the end of last year, the EU trailed behind the US’ 35.23 percent share of FDI holdings.
“This is mainly due to the lack of fresh foreign capital and general caution of investors and does not signify shifting importance in the bilateral trade relationship,” the report said.
Noting that the EU was only the 10th leading destination for Taiwan’s outward investment, the report said that Taiwan was not fully using its opportunities to invest in the large European market, which deserves more attention from the country.
In terms of people-to-people exchanges, the report said the number of students, businesses and tourists from Europe had increased, but the number of visas requested from Taiwan to the EU fell sharply last year by 23 percent year on year, with only 218,411 issued.
The report attributed the sharp drop to a strong euro and the economic crisis that hit the world in the second half of last year.
On the other hand, the report said a significant increase was expected in the number of Taiwanese nationals visiting the UK, which lifted the visa requirement for Taiwanese tourists on March 3.
The number of Taiwanese students in the UK and Spain dropped by 18 percent compared with 2007.
AI REVOLUTION: The event is to take place from Wednesday to Friday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center’s halls 1 and 2 and would feature more than 1,100 exhibitors Semicon Taiwan, an annual international semiconductor exhibition, would bring leaders from the world’s top technology firms to Taipei this year, the event organizer said. The CEO Summit is to feature nine global leaders from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), Applied Materials Inc, Google, Samsung Electronics Co, SK Hynix Inc, Microsoft Corp, Interuniversity Microelectronic Centre and Marvell Technology Group Ltd, SEMI said in a news release last week. The top executives would delve into how semiconductors are positioned as the driving force behind global technological innovation amid the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, the organizer said. Among them,
When she was in fifth grade, Scarlett Goddard Strahan started to worry about getting wrinkles. By the time she turned 10, she and her friends were spending hours on ByteDance Ltd’s TikTok and Google’s YouTube watching influencers tout products for achieving today’s beauty aesthetic: a dewy, “glowy,” flawless complexion. Goddard Strahan developed an elaborate skin care routine with facial cleansers, mists, hydrating masks and moisturizers. One night, her skin began to burn intensely and erupted in blisters. Heavy use of adult-strength products had wreaked havoc on her skin. Months later, patches of tiny bumps remain on her face, and her cheeks turn
Intel Corp is working with investment bankers to help navigate the most difficult period in its 56-year history, people familiar with the matter said. The company is discussing various scenarios, including a split of its product design and manufacturing businesses, and which factory projects might potentially be scrapped, the people said, who asked not to be identified. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Intel’s longtime bankers, have been providing advice on the possibilities, which could also include potential mergers and acquisitions, the people said. The discussions have only grown more urgent since Intel delivered a grim earnings report, which sent the
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said Taiwan’s government plans to set up a business service company in Kyushu, Japan, to help Taiwanese companies operating there. “The company will follow the one-stop service model similar to the science parks we have in Taiwan,” Kuo said. “As each prefecture is providing different conditions, we will establish a new company providing services and helping Taiwanese companies swiftly settle in Japan.” Kuo did not specify the exact location of the planned company but said it would not be in Kumamoto, the Kyushu prefecture in which Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電) has a