In view of the sharp year-on-year slide in the nation's trade surplus witnessed in the first quarter of this year, the government is poised to help companies increase their exports through market exploration and the inking of free trade agreements (FTAs) with friendly countries.
Steve Chen (陳瑞隆), vice minister of economic affairs, said that exploring new markets is very important to help domestic companies boost exports at a time when the global economy is widely forecast to cool off and when the country's Q1 trade surplus contracted by 85 percent over the year-earlier level.
Although the trade surplus decline was in large part due to a sharp increase in imports, Chen said that the time has come for the government to thoroughly examine the nation's export outlets and help Taiwanese firms edge into new markets as a means of increasing outbound shipments.
In cooperation with the semi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has set its sights on Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, where it hopes to help seize a large market share for Taiwanese products, Chen said.
A task force has also been set up in the hopes of helping curb the nation's mounting trade deficits with Japan and South Korea, he noted.
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