2015 US-Taiwan Business Forum

The Council hosts the U.S.-Taiwan Business Forum, bringing together business leaders from Taiwan and the United States to examine the future of our bilateral economic and commercial relationship, in Washington, D.C.

The U.S.-Taiwan Business Forum – held on March 23, 2015 – brought together high-level executives from Taiwan and the United States for a dialogue on industries and sectors where U.S.-Taiwan bilateral cooperation can be expanded. The Forum also supported a wide-ranging conversation on bilateral, trilateral (U.S.-Taiwan-China), and regional trade.

Event Proceedings Report: U.S.-Taiwan Business Forum

Approximately 50 business leaders from Taiwan and the U.S. met at the Forum to discuss issues of mutual concern, to examine the future of our bilateral economic and business relationship, and to make recommendations about ways to improve the trade and investment relationship between the United States and Taiwan. This Forum also offered a significant opportunity for U.S. executives to meet and interact with some of the most distinguished and visionary leaders from the Taiwan business community.

The formal agenda at the Forum included discussions on a wide range of topics. A policy discussion on investment and industrial cooperation examined the bilateral investment environment, discussed prospects presented by the potential U.S.-Taiwan Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA), and appraised opportunities for expanding industrial cooperation between U.S. and Taiwan businesses.

A session on technology trends and bilateral cooperation covered technology and ICT trends – such as the move towards mobility, ubiquitous computing, wearables, and the Internet of Things – and examined how companies in both the U.S. and Taiwan are preparing to take advantage of such trends through bilateral and regional cooperation.

The discussion on the implications of Asia Pacific economic integration addressed questions such as how businesses in the U.S. and Taiwan are responding to regional economic integration, the potential effects of regional trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and if there are opportunities for U.S. and Taiwan companies to cooperate to strengthen their competitiveness in regional markets.

Introductory remarks at the Forum were delivered by Dr. Paul Wolfowitz, Chairman of the US-Taiwan Business Council, Mr. Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and by Mr. Francis Kuo-Hsin Liang, Chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Closing remarks were delivered by Mr. Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President of the US-Taiwan Business Council, by Dr. Robert Wang, Senior Official for APEC at the U.S. Department of State, and by Mr. Francis Liang of TAITRA.