Taiwan's Trade Research Articles

Impact of Russia Ukraine War on Taiwanese Economy

The economy of Taiwan is characterized by a strong industrial base and high-tech manufacturing capabilities. It heavily relies on international trade, with the United States, China, Japan, and the European Union being major trading partners. While the trade volumes with Russia and Ukraine in 2021 were relatively smaller, there were ongoing economic interactions and potential for further growth. Geopolitical considerations, particularly related to China's influence, can impact Taiwan's trade relationships with various countries. The Russia-Ukraine war has had a major impact on the Taiwanese economy. The war has disrupted trade, tourism, energy prices, and supply chains, all of which have had a negative impact on the country's economic growth. The future outlook for the Taiwanese economy is uncertain, but the government is taking steps to mitigate the impact of the war.

The United States and Taiwan Sign Trade Agreement and Congress Enacts Law to Regulate the Negotiation and Approval of Taiwan Trade Agreements

The United States and Taiwan Sign Trade Agreement and Congress Enacts Law to Regulate the Negotiation and Approval of Taiwan Trade Agreements

EXPLORING THE TRADE RELATIONSHIP UNDER THE ASYMMETRIC INTERDEPENDENCE IN THE CROSS STRAIT

Taiwan is an island-oriented economic system’s state, its economic development depends on the expansion of international trade, while the economic and trade cooperation is becoming more and more important in the cross-strait, Taiwan's trade dependence on the mainland is high, the trade surplus is increasing year by year, but there is a statistical gap on the cross-strait economic and trade, and the real gap needs to be further analyzed in order to know the truth fact. The methodology in this study is Literature Review, it try to know the main factors affecting Taiwan's economic development. The mainland is vast in land and rich in resources and rapid economic development; However, Taiwan is small area and poor resources, and it’s economic growth is slowing down; In fact, there is indeed an asymmetry in trade relations between the cross-strait economic situation, but the degree of interdependence is different. Taiwan has a competitive advantage in high-tech industries, a good investment and financial environment, and a continuous trade surplus with the mainland, and it can also be found that Taiwan has a competitive advantage from the trade special coefficients (TSC) index, and cannot be determined by the total amount of trade completely. Although the political and economic environment is different between the two sides of the strait, those of non-governmental work such as investment, consumption, and trade cooperation has become an important key factor in the economic development between Taiwan and the Mainland China

Services in global value chains – the cases of Taiwan and Korea

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the value added of exports of services, which increasingly involve intermediate inputs to manufacturing and are indirectly embodied in intermediate and finished good exports to the global market earned by Taiwan and South Korea. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the World Input-Output Database to examine and compare the competitiveness of service industry between Taiwan and South Korea in China from 1995 to 2011. The author measures the value added of export in two ways: value added in trade (VAiT) and trade in value added (TiVA). Findings The proportion of domestic (intermediate and final demand) VAiT was created by Taiwanese and South Korean exports to China. The services amount share of value added embodied in Taiwanese electrical and optical equipment (ELE) exports to China increased gradually (38.0–45.7 percent) from 1996 to 2011, that was more than that of South Korea (26.7–23.3 percent). Taiwanese financial and business (F&B) service contributed to Taiwanese ELE production exported to China. In service sectors, the proportion of VAiT of Taiwanese F&B service embodied in ELE exports to China increased annually (9.8–11.5 percent), that was similar to that of South Korea (12.2–11.3 percent). Thus, F&B sector played an increasingly important role in service sectors. Taiwanese F&B promotes the ELE export to China with higher efficiency than South Korea does. Originality/value Over the past two decades, the development of information technology and the growth of international specialization and fragmentation of production processes have brought about a global value chains (GVCs) phenomenon in services, which has already been taking place in manufacturing for a long time. Intangible value added of services increasingly involved intermediate inputs from manufacturing and were indirectly embodied in intermediate and finished goods exported to the global market. The focus of this paper is to analyze how the service industry participates in the development of the GVC, with emphasis on the export of ELE production to China in the bilateral trade of Taiwan and Korea with China. In addition to the value-added components, the exports of F&B intermediate products to China have been increasing year by year, and Taiwanese is higher than South Korean. In the bilateral trade between Taiwan or Korea and China, for ELE production exported to China, double counted part of intermediate products is increasing year by year. In terms of the value added of the double counting of F&B exports to China, Taiwan is higher (PDC, 31.23–17.26 percent) than South Korea. (PDC, 8.7–15.12 percent). South Korea and China are not as closely related as Taiwan and China.

Dancing with the Wolf: Securitizing China–Taiwan Trade in the ECFA Debate and Beyond

ABSTRACTSince Ma Ying-Jeou assumed presidency in 2008, he promoted an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) and Taiwan’s political rapprochement with China. However, the opposition party soon proposed a counter argument, claiming this agreement might produce severe negative consequences for Taiwan’s economy and sovereignty.This study presents a securitization framework to highlight both the KMT and DPP strategy in contesting the nature of ECFA despite the potential inflation of benefit. It investigates both the KMT and DPP securitization strategies under Taiwan’s political and economic contexts. A de-securitizing discourse, though might have been a convincing counterargument against ECFA, was underdeveloped by the DPP members. It also shows how the debate shapes the discourse in the Sunflower Student Movements in 2014, and led to the DPP’s subsequent change of securitization strategy.

Significance of major international seaports in the distribution of murine typhus in Taiwan.

BackgroundInternational seaports are hotspots for disease invasion and pathogens can persist in seaports even after ports are abandoned. Transmitted by fleas infected by Rickettsia typhi, murine typhus, a largely neglected and easily misdiagnosed disease, is known to occur primarily in large seaports. However, the significance of seaports in the occurrence of murine typhus has never been validated quantitatively.Methodology/Principal findingsWe studied the spatial distribution of murine typhus, a notifiable disease, in Taiwan. We investigated whether risk of infection was correlated with distance to international seaports and a collection of environmental and socioeconomic factors, using a Bayesian negative binomial conditionally autoregressive model, followed with geographically weighted regression. Seaports that are currently in use and those that operated in the 19th century for trade with China, but were later abandoned due to siltation were analyzed. A total of 476 human cases of murine typhus were reported during 2000–2014 in the main island of Taiwan, with spatial clustering in districts in southwest and central-west Taiwan. A higher incidence rate (case/population) was associated with a smaller distance to currently in-use international seaports and lower rainfall and temperature, but was uncorrelated with distance to abandoned ports. Geographically weighted regression revealed a geographic heterogeneity in the importance of distance to in-use seaports near the four international seaports of Taiwan.Conclusions/SignificanceOur study suggests that murine typhus is associated with international seaports, especially for those with large trading volume. Thus, one of the costs of global trade in Taiwan might be elevated risks of murine typhus. Globalization has accelerated the spread of infectious diseases, but the burden of disease varies geographically, with regions surrounding major international seaports warranting particular surveillance.

Unveiling the true value of across-strait trade: The global value chain approach

Due to the pervasive nature of value chains, an increasing amount of imported intermediate components and raw materials from other countries are entangled in Taiwan's exports to Mainland China. This circumstance leads to odd across-trait bilateral trade amounts and surpluses favorable towards Taiwan. The purposes of this paper are applying Johnson and Noguera (2012) to extricate value-added exports earned by Taiwan from China and Wang, Wei, and Zhu (2013) to decompose Taiwan's gross exports to China into various meaningful components. The two issues are related to trade in value added and value added in trade. Specifically, the former explores the value added embedded in the source country's exports to the absorbing country as final demand, regardless of whether those goods are directly or indirectly arriving at the absorbing country. The latter only looks where the value added is originated regardless of where it is ultimately absorbed. We show both concepts aim to measure a country's value added from its trades, but from different angles. Each has its own distinct meaning. They are related, but not completely the same.The inter-country input–output (ICIO) table used in this paper comes from the World Input–Output Database (WIOD) (Timmer et al., 2015 and Dietzenbacher et al., 2013). Empirical results indicate that Taiwan's export values to Mainland China shrink by 64.3% when bilateral trades are measured in value-added terms. Furthermore, Taiwan's trade surplus toward China also decreases by 65.2% under this measure. From the viewpoint of value added in trade, the share of value added in Taiwan's gross exports to China continued to decrease and reached 50.9% in 2011, while the components of foreign value added and double counted terms kept growing in recent years.

A value-added analysis of trade in Taiwan and Korea’s ICT industries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extricate value-added exports in information and communications technology (ICT) industry earned by Taiwan and Korea. Additionally, the authors decompose Taiwan and Korea’s gross exports into various meaningful components. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use the inter-country input-output (ICIO) table which endows with cost structures of industries as well as trade information, facilitating in keeping track of the flow of products and value-added. The ICIO table used in this paper comes from the World Input-Output Database. The authors also use the way Wang et al. (2013) decomposed the intermediate goods exports into various components to provide further insights. Findings – The empirical results indicate that Taiwan and Korea’s ICT export to the world shrink by 47.8 and 40.9 percent when the trades are measured in value-added terms. Taiwan and Korea’s ICT export will also decrease by 75.1 and 57.8 percent. From the viewpoint of value added in trade, the share of value added embodied in Taiwan and Korea’s gross ICT exports continued to decrease and reached 24.9 and 42.2 percent in 2011, while the components of pure double counted terms kept growing in recent years. Originality/value – With global value chains flourishing in recent years, conventional trade statistics not only fails to highlight the vertical specialization among different countries, but also distorts the measurement of a country’s competitiveness. This paper extricates value-added exports in ICT industry earned by Taiwan and Korea and bring into focus the importance of trade in value added.

What determinants matter on fair trade products purchase: a case study of Taiwan

Eight years ago, the movement of Taiwan's fair trade (FT) began in coffee cafes and shops. However, until now the perception of FT consumption was very new to most consumers in Taiwan. What are the purchase determinants on FT products? Among these determinants, what matters most in consumer decisions? The purpose of this paper is to propose a multiple-criteria-decision-making (MCDM) model for purchase determinants on FT products from the perspectives of teachers and students at C University in Taiwan. According to the results, the respondents ranked product value, perception recognition and product label as the top three important dimensions. Among the 23 criteria studied, help producers, high recognition of FT perception, reliable quality, function and high preference of FT products were the five key factors when it making a purchase decision on FT products. The results provide reference to producers, consumers and the related parties.

International Trade and the Transformation of Taiwanese Sugar Merchants: A Case Study of the Chen Fuqian Family in Takao, 1860–1905

Focusing on the business operation of the Chen Fuqian family in south Taiwan, this paper analyses the importance of traditional business customs and family organization in international trade. Alongside the expansion of trade in Taiwan in the late Qing period, Taiwanese merchants would try to learn Western system of management to better position themselves in the intensive business competition. The development of the Chen family business thus epitomized the interaction between traditional Chinese and Western managerial system. (This article is in Chinese.)

The wildlife pet trade as a driver of introduction and establishment in alien birds in Taiwan

The global trade in alien cage birds is flourishing and is considered to be one of the major routes by which species are entrained into the human-mediated invasion pathway. Here, we explore the likely influence of the wild bird trade on alien bird invasions in Taiwan. Specifically, we analyse the characteristics of alien bird species that have been successfully introduced and established at large in the wild. We use phylogenetic regression models to compare the traits of alien species recorded in the cage bird trade in Taiwan that have (or have not) subsequently been recorded at large in the wild, and the traits of species recorded in the wild that have (or have not) established (species identified in the Breeding Bird Survey in Taiwan). Alien species were more likely to be recorded as successfully introduced if they were commonly for sale in the Taiwanese pet bird trade, and possessed songs considered to be more attractive to people. Species that have been sold in the pet market for a longer period were also more likely to have been recorded in the wild. Establishment success was more likely for large-bodied bird species, but not strongly related to other predicted determinants of success, including proxies for propagule pressure and climate matching. We conclude that the pet trade influences bird invasions in Taiwan by determining which species are exposed to novel environments there, but which of those introduced species goes on to establish may depend more on their intrinsic life histories.

Administrative Protective Orders in Taiwan Trade Remedy Proceedings

Administrative Protective Orders in Taiwan Trade Remedy Proceedings

Crouching tiger, lurking dragon: understanding Taiwan's sovereignty and trade linkages in the twenty-first century

Crouching tiger, lurking dragon: understanding Taiwan's sovereignty and trade linkages in the twenty-first century

Patterns of non-randomness in the composition and characteristics of the Taiwanese bird trade

The invasion pathway is composed of a sequential series of stages that need to be quantified separately in order properly to understand the invasion process. Here, we examine the composition and characteristics of bird species being sold in the pet bird market in Taiwan. The bird trade in Taiwan is of high volume and financially lucrative. The identity of species in this trade is vital for informing later stages (introduction, establishment, spread) of the invasion pathway. We conducted interviews and surveys of 72 outlets selling pet birds from seven cities across Taiwan, from which we identified 247 bird species (within 34 families) for sale. Of these, 170 bird species (from 27 families) are exotic to Taiwan. Using randomization tests, we show that nine families are significantly over-represented in the pet trade (Psittacidae, Muscicapidae, Timaliidae, Sturnidae, Turdidae, Estrildidae, Chloropseidae, Zosteropidae and Fringillidae), and three after sequential Bonferroni correction (Psittacidae, Muscicapidae and Sturnidae). Species that have been identified in Taiwanese pet shops tend to have a larger native geographic range, originate further from the equator, are smaller-bodied, and have more aesthetically-pleasing songs than expected by chance. The native ranges of pet shop species are more likely to be situated in the Indo-Malay and Palearctic biogeographic realms, while fewer species than expected derive from the Neotropic, Afrotropic and Nearctic realms. Our results show that bird species for sale in Taiwan are determined by the interaction of species availability and societal demands.

The Linkage between Imported Energy and Trade in Taiwan

This study examines the Granger causality between Taiwan's aggregate and disaggregate energy consumption and trade variables, including total imports (IM), total exports (EX), total energy consumption (ENERGY), oil and petroleum products consumption (OIL), coal and coal products consumption (COAL), natural gas consumption (GAS), export value of the industrial sector (EX_I), export value of heavy-chemical industrial products (EX_HI), and export value of non-heavy-chemical industrial products (EX_NHI) with monthly data during 1998–2009. Via applying Hsiao's version of the Granger causality method, the results find causality running from ENERGY to IM, EX, EX_I, and EX_HI. The impulse-response simulations show that the above relations have positive responses at the initial period. OIL Granger causes all trade variables. The impulse directions to IM and EX_NHI are negative, whereas others are positive. On the other hand, COAL responds to impulses in all trade variables. The impulse-response simulations show that these relations have positive responses at the initial period except for causality running from EX_HI and EX_NHI to COAL. GAS positively responds to impulses in EX, EX_I, and EX_HI at the initial period. The bidirectional Granger causality between pairs of variables (such as GAS and EX_NHI as well as GAS and EX_HI) is found.

The ECFA and its expected effect on cross-strait trade and investment: a Taiwanese perspective

To come to terms with the realization of ASEAN+1, Taiwan had concluded with mainland China a special free trade agreement (FTA), the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in June 2010. This framework agreement provides an early harvest agreement of near-term tariff elimination, including detailed product schedules for goods and services from each side, with the final shape of fuller trade liberalization in goods and services taking years to negotiate and realize. The conclusion of the ECFA has been considered as a major breakthrough in cross-strait talks and economic relationships, even though it is by no means free from controversies inside Taiwan. The authors are therefore motivated by hot debates in Taiwan to reflect on the expected trade effect of the ECFA by taking into account the factor of cross-strait global production networks. In particular, we examine with a proposed model and statistical robustness, the trend of Taiwan-based firms' localization in mainland China, driven in part by constant movements in global production networks, which generates complicated and dynamic relationships between Taiwan's investment-induced trade and structural shift in Taiwan's exports to mainland China. Based on our empirical findings, we reflect on the conventional views on the trade effect of the free trade agreement. The results of our analyses tend to support a cautious view about the trade effect of the ECFA. Without denying the significance of the ECFA and deepening cross-strait economic relationships, we argue that the impact of the ECFA should be interpreted in a wider context than just the trade perspective, as the conventional wisdom and the existing evaluations suggested.

THE HISTORY OF TAIWANMarriage and Mandatory Abortion among the 17th-century Siraya. John Robert ShepherdHow Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Tonio AndradeThe Colonial "Civilizing Process" in Dutch Formosa, 1624–1662. Chiu HsinhuiTaiwan in Japan's Empire Building: An Institutional Approach to Colonial Engineering. Hui-yu Caroline Ts'ai

Previous articleNext article No AccessReview EssayTHE HISTORY OF TAIWAN Marriage and Mandatory Abortion among the 17th-century Siraya. John Robert Shepherd How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Tonio Andrade The Colonial "Civilizing Process" in Dutch Formosa, 1624–1662. Chiu Hsinhui Taiwan in Japan's Empire Building: An Institutional Approach to Colonial Engineering. Hui-yu Caroline Ts'ai J. Bruce JacobsJ. Bruce Jacobs Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The China Journal Volume 65January 2011 Published on behalf of the Australian Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/tcj.65.25790564 Views: 553Total views on this site Citations: 2Citations are reported from Crossref © The China JournalPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Jean-Pierre Himpler The World Financial Crisis: Impacts on GDP and International Trade in Taiwan, (Jun 2018).https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.74536Chin-Feng Lin, Chen-Su Fu Changes in tourist personal values: impact of experiencing tourism products and services, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research 22, no.22 (Jul 2016): 173–186.https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2016.1208670

Parallel Importation of Copyright Products in Taiwan: A Struggle with International Trade Policy

Unlike Taiwan's Patent Law, which expressly permits parallel importation, and the Trademark Law, where parallel imports have been held permissible by Taiwan courts, Taiwan's Copyright Law, after amendment in 1993, basically forbids parallel imports (articles 87(4) and 87‐1). This enactment essentially creates a new distribution right for copyright owners. Since then, parallel imported copyright products have been treated as unlawful copies. Distributors of those parallel imports in Taiwan are therefore subject to both civil and criminal penalties. This article starts by covering the rules that govern parallel imports in Taiwan, their impacts on Taiwan's copyright market and assesses the role Taiwan's international trade policy played in view of its Copyright Law legislation. It also analyses the adverse effects of this ban on parallel imports on Taiwan's trade with other countries. As Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2009, it is concluded that the ban on parallel imports may be challenged by other WTO members as an unlawful trade barrier. The existing ban under articles 87(4) and 87‐1 of Taiwan's Copyright Law does not properly address the parallel imports issues or serve the objectives of Taiwan's Copyright Law. Fair‐use application on a case‐by‐case basis should be a more adequate approach.

STRATEGIC TRADE CONTROLS IN TAIWAN

Because it is a producer and supplier of high-tech dual-use goods as well as a major transit point for WMD-related and military items, Taiwan represents an important case study of national export control systems. Taiwan is not an official member of the major multilateral export control regimes, yet it remains committed to nonproliferation goals. The article explores the strategic trade controls of Taiwan within the context of its nonproliferation policies and commitments. The author discusses the strong and weak aspects of Taiwan's strategic trade controls by looking in detail at key components of the country's export-import control system: legal basis, licensing system, enforcement and compliance mechanism, government-industry outreach, and adherence to nonproliferation treaties and multilateral export control regimes.

Taiwan's trade imbalance and exchange rate revisited

This article applies the recently developed econometric method of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to re-examine the relationship between the exchange rate and bilateral trade imbalance for Taiwan and its several trading partners: China, Hong Kong, the US, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. The implication of this issue is critical to policy makers, particularly after China and Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in late 2001 and early 2002, respectively. The empirical evidence shows a stable long-run relationship of bilateral trade balance and real exchange rate between Taiwan and its trading partners except Japan. Other findings indicate that except for the US, there is no specific pattern supporting the J-curve phenomenon for these trading partners.