Publications

France-Taiwan Monthly Bilateral Trade and Economic Update – June 2026

1 June 2026

Here's the summary of this month's edition of the French Economic Department Bilateral Trade and Economic Update:

🔗 Bilateral Relations

Bilateral Relations: Launch of the 2026–2027 call for proposals on innovation funding for joint France–Taiwan R&D projects
Semiconductors: In its latest report, the Institut Montaigne sets out nine recommendations to bring the European and Taiwanese semiconductor ecosystems closer together

📈 Macroeconomics and Finance

Stock Market: Taiwan’s TAIEX benchmark index has posted an unprecedented 32% rise since late March, making Taiwan the world’s 6th-largest financial center, ahead of the United Kingdom
Foreign Trade: Taiwan becomes the United States’ largest trade deficit in Q1 2026
Finance: Earnings at Taiwanese banks’ overseas branches rose 8.7% in Q1, except in mainland China, where they fell 19.9%
Balance of payments: Taiwan’s current account surplus reached 25% of GDP in Q1 2026 due to trade in AI-related products
Economy: Driven by its AI exports, Taiwan recorded its strongest quarterly GDP growth in 40 years in Q1 2026

💻 Industry and Electronics

Industry: Driven by demand for low-carbon construction materials in the European market, Taiwan Cement is considering an initial public offering in Europe
Semiconductors: Facing the risk of factory bottlenecks due to demand for AI chips, TSMC signals a diversification of its technology portfolio
Data centers: Taiwanese semiconductor design leader MediaTek opens its first data center to design AI chips
Innovation: Taiwan climbs to 20th place in StartupBlink’s global ranking of startup ecosystems

⚡Energy and Environment

Middle East conflict: Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture announces measures to stabilize electricity and fuel prices for the agricultural sector
Energy: In response to Nvidia’s CEO, Prime Minister Cho Jung-tai assures that Taiwan will not experience electricity shortages by 2032
Middle East conflict: the government maintains measures to freeze prices at the pump for the eighth consecutive week

The full document is available below.

A sincere thanks to Mr. Antoine AUBEL and all the team of the French Economic Department!