AI applications boosted Taiwan‘s exports to the United States in 2024, according to data from the Taiwanese Ministry of Finance.
Taiwan exports AI applications to the U.S. mainly linked to hardware and embedded software in strategic sectors, rather than direct consumer applications.
These include AI for semiconductors and specialty chips, machine vision and edge AI systems, embedded AI solutions for IoT, AI applied to healthcare and diagnostics, and AI-enabled robotics platforms.
AI applications
In 2024, Taiwan exported products to the U.S. market with a customs value of $111.369 billion, an increase of 46.1% year-on-year.
At that value, the share of total Taiwanese exports was at its highest level in 25 years, reaching 23.4 percent.
According to the Central Bank of Taiwan, this increase was mainly due to the growing demand for AI applications, which drove higher ICT/AV exports to the United States.
Challenges
Taiwan’s central bank noted that while Taiwanese ICT exports posted solid growth through the first quarter of 2025, with the emergence of DeepSeek and stagnant future growth in AI server development, the domestic economy could slow slightly, a concern to which the capital market appears to have reacted.
In addition, the bank added that if Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) investment push to the U.S. prompts other companies in related supply chains to follow suit, it could have a short-term crowding-out effect on investment in Taiwan and disrupt the supply and demand for liquidity in the domestic market.
Taiwan is central in technology supply chains, especially in the semiconductor industry. Taiwanese companies are involved in R&D, design, manufacturing, materials and testing. About 90% of the world’s advanced chips are produced in Taiwan, mainly by TSMC. Its main customers include Apple and Nvidia. UMC, the country’s second-largest foundry, produces mature-generation chips.
TSMC has invested in three fabs in Arizona, supported by the CHIPS Act, and plans more investments in plants and R&D centers. It is also evaluating a partnership with Intel in the United States.