Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US surged to a record high last year, a haul that could rankle US President-elect Donald Trump as he returns to the White House on a mission to eliminate the US’ imbalances in commerce.
Net Taiwanese exports to the US jumped by 83.5 percent to US$64.9 billion last year, according to a statement from the Finance Ministry today — the sixth straight year that the net figure has climbed.
In contrast, Taiwan’s net exports to China fell to US$17.7 billion last year, the lowest level since 2003. The divergence in trade flows highlights Taiwan’s decreasing economic reliance on its largest neighbor amid high geopolitical tensions across the strait and a slowdown in China’s economy.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The widening trade imbalance with the US could make Taiwan a target of tariffs proposed by Trump as he prepares to reclaim the White House later this month. The former president has pledged to usher in a manufacturing boom and repeatedly criticized US trade deficits with other countries. In a July interview with Bloomberg Businessweek before the US election last year, Trump accused Taiwan of taking “about 100 percent of our chip business.”
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), in a meeting with a delegation from the US-Taiwan Business Council, emphasized the government’s commitment to expanding cooperation in trade, investment and procurement with the US, according to a statement from the Cabinet on Tuesday.
The central bank has suggested increasing purchases of US energy, agricultural goods and military equipment — a move that could align Taiwan with Trump’s demands. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said in November last year that TSMC’s investments in the US might help alleviate Taiwan's trade imbalance with the world’s largest economy, and other Taiwanese companies could consider following suit.
Exports have remained a key driver of Taiwan’s economy. The central bank recently lifted its growth forecast for last year to 4.25 percent during its latest quarterly meeting, citing robust overseas demand for Taiwan’s technology products.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS