Taiwan’s exports in January rose far beyond expectations, recording the fastest monthly growth in 16 years as global demand for the island’s chips and technology powering artificial intelligence applications continued to climb. According to the finance ministry, exports surged 69.9% year-on-year to $65.77 billion, outpacing the 51.9% forecast in a Reuters poll and significantly higher than December’s 43.4% increase. This performance set a monthly record by value and extended Taiwan’s streak of consecutive year-on-year export gains to 27 months.
The ministry highlighted that strong demand from AI and cloud computing sectors was a key driver of growth. However, it also noted that the comparison base was relatively low, as late January last year coincided with the start of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, resulting in fewer working days.
Major Taiwanese companies, including TSMC—the world’s largest contract chipmaker—supply critical components to leading technology firms such as Nvidia, Apple, and others, reinforcing the island’s central role in the global tech supply chain.
Despite last year’s 20% U.S. tariffs under the Trump administration, Taiwan’s exporters largely avoided major economic disruption, as key semiconductor products were exempt from the tariffs. Last month, Washington agreed to reduce the rate to 15% under a broader trade and investment agreement, further supporting Taiwan’s export momentum.
The finance ministry expects the positive trend to continue, forecasting February exports to grow between 20% and 27% year-on-year, even with the Lunar New Year holiday occurring in the middle of the month.
Looking at regional trade, exports to the United States jumped 151.8% from a year earlier to $21.28 billion, while shipments to China increased 49.6%. Electronic components also saw a record surge, rising 59.8% to $22.36 billion.
Imports into Taiwan climbed 63.6% to $46.87 billion, exceeding economists’ expectations of a 40.85% increase, reflecting strong domestic demand and supply chain activity.
The ministry emphasized that the combination of accelerated AI-driven demand and the adjusted U.S. tariff framework will help sustain Taiwan’s export growth throughout 2026.
