A trade dispute between the US and China partially contributed to an increase in trade volume and value at the nation’s free-trade zones at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and major seaports in the first quarter of this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Department of Aviation and Navigation said yesterday.
Trade volume at the nation’s free-trade zones grew 6.5 percent from the same period last year, while trade value rose 21.2 percent, department data showed.
The first-quarter performance of the Farglory Free Trade Zone at the airport was particularly outstanding, growing 26.7 percent and 30.6 percent in trade volume and value respectively, the department said.
One publicly traded server and 4G-related equipment manufacturer has moved an assembly line from China to the free-trade zone at the airport to avoid US tariffs on goods produced in China, it said.
A mechanical equipment maker has moved its product processing unit from China to Tainan’s Anping Port, it added.
Some Taiwanese companies started moving their production lines from China three years ago due to regulatory changes on certain products, the department said.
The department also attributed the growth in business at the free-trade zones to an increase in the storage and transshipment volume of nonferrous metals, as well as exports of machinery and equipment at some of the nation’s major seaports.
Last year, four manufacturing companies — makers of IC components, fireproof materials, computer components and electronic gaming products — established operations at the Farglory Free Trade Zone, the department said.
Those decisions were unrelated to the US-China trade dispute, it said.
This year, a manufacturer of pressure vessels and wind turbine equipment also established operations at one of the nation’s free-trade zones, it said.
The department said that it is setting new development goals and strategies for the free-trade zones.
It aims to encourage companies to develop new business models by relaxing government regulations and is also working on making the tax code clear and reasonable to investors, it said.
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