Taiwan's exports hit new high in July

Taipei, Aug. 8 (CNA) Taiwan's exports hit a new monthly high in July, soaring more than 40 percent from a year earlier on the back of solid global demand for emerging technologies, with foreign buyers rushing to place orders before U.S. tariffs went into effect in August, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Friday.

Data compiled by the MOF showed the country's exports hit US$56.68 billion in July, up 42.0 percent from a year earlier, marking the 21st consecutive month of year-on-year growth.

Taiwan's imports rose 20.8 percent from a year earlier to US$42.34 billion in July, creating a trade surplus of US$14.34 billion, an increase of 195.1 percent from a year earlier.

In the first seven months of this year, the country's exports hit US$339.94 billion, up 28.3 percent from a year earlier and imports totaled US$269.89 billion, up 20.5 percent year-on-year, with a trade surplus of US$70.05 billion, up 71.0 percent from a year earlier.

At a news conference, Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜), director-general of the MOF's Department of Statistics, said growing demand for artificial intelligence applications and cloud services continue to prompt foreign buyers to place orders for Taiwan-made tech products, including semiconductors, which served as a driver to July's outbound sales growth.

In addition, efforts to avoid the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration further pushed up Taiwan's exports in the month, Tsai said. On Aug. 7, U.S. blanket tariffs went into effect with Taiwan facing 20 percent, down from 32 percent initially announced by the White House after negotiations.

In July, Taiwan's exports of information and communications and video/audio products hit a new high of US$24.23 billion, soaring 87.1 percent from a year earlier on the back of strong demand for computer components and accessories, switches and routers, the MOF said.

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In the same month, Taiwan's electronic components industry posted US$18.42 billion in exports, up 34.1 percent from a year earlier with semiconductor sales rising 35.9 percent to US$17.26 billion, the MOF added.

Old economy industries posted a mixed performance in July, according to the MOF.

Among them, the machinery industry received a boost from the efforts of semiconductor suppliers to expand production, and saw exports rise 14.0 percent from a year earlier to about US$2.30 billion in July, the MOF said.

In addition, the electric machinery industry generated US$1.25 billion in exports in July, up 14.8 percent from a year earlier as AI applications bolstered demand for power management solutions and cooling equipment, the MOF added.

Bucking the upturn, the base metal and plastics/rubber industries suffered a decline of 1.8 percent and 4.6 percent in exports, respectively, with US$2.25 billion and US$1.49 billion in July, according to the MOF.

Tsai said Taiwan's major buyers all recorded an increase in purchases of goods from Taiwanese exporters, with the United States the largest market after buying US$18.65 percent in goods, a new high, up 62.8 percent from a year earlier.

July was the third consecutive month the U.S. has ranked as the No. 1 buyer of Taiwan's goods, Tsai said, adding exports to the U.S. in the first seven months of this year totaled US$97.54 billion.

China and Hong Kong came in second after buying US$14.37 billion worth of goods from Taiwan in July, up 23.9 percent, ahead of the ASEAN bloc, which bought US$11.63 billion in goods from Taiwan, a new high, up 71.6 percent from a year earlier.

Looking ahead, the MOF said Taiwan is expected to continue to benefit from the booming AI era, while the country's semiconductor suppliers are likely to upgrade their processes to boost sales.

However, uncertainties over international trade and geopolitical unease could still undermine the global economy, the MOF said.