Taiwan’s exports to the US in the first half of this year hit a record high, buoyed by robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing applications, as well as front-loading orders ahead of potential US tariff policy changes, the Ministry of Finance said in a report yesterday.
Exports to ASEAN in the first half of the year also reached the highest ever on the back of rising shipments of information and communications technology (ICT) goods, audiovisual products and electronic components, the report said.
Data compiled by the ministry showed that exports to the US from January to last month increased 51.4 percent to US$78.9 billion, while those to ASEAN grew 31.4 percent to US$55.6 billion from a year earlier.
Photo: CNA
The US accounted for 27.9 percent of Taiwan’s total outbound shipments in the first half, an increase of 4.7 percentage points from the previous year and the largest proportion for the same period in 33 years, the report said.
Exports to ASEAN made up 19.5 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from the previous year and also the largest share for the period, it said.
Of the 10 ASEAN countries, Taiwan registered the largest first-half exports for the same period to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos, as a wave of supply-chain relocations away from China and emerging AI business opportunities drove outbound shipments of servers, graphics cards, semiconductor chips and electronic components, the report said.
Meanwhile, shipments to Indonesia, Myanmar and Brunei increased by 20 percent to 30 percent from a year earlier during the six-month period, it added.
As Taiwan forges closer ties with the US and ASEAN to diversify export markets and reduce dependence on China, the proportion of Taiwan’s exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, in the first six months fell to the lowest level in nearly 24 years at 27.9 percent, down 3.3 percentage points year-on-year, the report said.
That came even as outbound shipments to China increased 12.7 percent annually to US$79.2 billion in the six-month period, it said.
The proportion of Taiwanese goods destined for Europe and Japan reached record lows at 6.4 percent and 5 percent respectively, as exports to Europe fell 7.7 percent to US$18.1 billion, while those to Japan rose 12.2 percent to US$14.2 billion from a year earlier, the report said.
Overall, Taiwan’s exports in the first half of the year rose 25.9 percent to US$283.26 billion, the best ever, driven mainly by an annual increase of 63 percent in ICT and audiovisual exports at US$101.9 billion and a growth of 22.2 percent in shipments of electronic components at US$98.7 billion, it said.
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