Latest reading: In July, the trade balance was USD +2.1 billion, following a USD +2.5 billion reading in the prior...
Merchandise Imports in Taiwan
Merchandise imports in Taiwan were worth USD 394 billion in 2024, compared to USD 281 billion ten years earlier, and they averaged USD 311 billion over the last decade. For more information on imports, visit our dedicated page.
Taiwan Merchandise Imports Chart
Note: This chart displays Imports (USD billion) for Taiwan from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
Taiwan Merchandise Imports Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merchandise Imports (USD bn) | 286 | 382 | 428 | 352 | 394 |
| Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) | 0.2 | 33.5 | 12.1 | -17.9 | 12.2 |
Merchandise exports continue to surge in August
Latest reading: Merchandise exports soared 34.1% over the same month last year in August, on the heels of July’s 42.0% upturn and well above market expectations. The ongoing export boom was linked to burgeoning global demand for AI applications. Looking at key trading partners, sales to almost all key markets rose by double digits, with sales to the U.S. recording the fastest growth. Meanwhile, merchandise imports jumped 29.7% over the same month last year in August (July: +20.8% yoy). As a result, the merchandise trade balance improved from the previous month, recording a USD 16.8 billion surplus in August (July 2025: USD 14.3 billion surplus; August 2024: USD 11.5 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend improved, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 115.1 billion surplus in August, compared to the USD 109.7 billion surplus in July.
Panelist insight: On the outlook, Nomura analysts said: “We expect export growth to stay resilient in coming months, owing to the upcoming iPhone 17 launch and continued Blackwell GPU shipments. Section 232 semiconductor tariffs are a risk, but we expect the impact to be constrained, given that leading Taiwanese tech companies have investments in the US.”
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Taiwanese merchandise imports projections for the next ten years from a panel of 4 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable merchandise imports forecast available for Taiwanese merchandise imports.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Taiwanese merchandise imports projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Taiwanese merchandise imports forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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