Taipei: Taiwan's exports hit a new monthly high in July, soaring more than 40 percent from a year earlier on the back of solid global demand for emerging technologies, with foreign buyers rushing to place orders before U.S. tariffs went into effect in August, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Friday. Data compiled by the MOF showed the country's exports hit US$56.68 billion in July, up 42.0 percent from a year earlier, marking the 21st consecutive month of year-on-year growth.

According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwan's imports rose 20.8 percent from a year earlier to US$42.34 billion in July, resulting in a trade surplus of US$14.34 billion, an increase of 195.1 percent from a year earlier. In the first seven months of this year, the country's exports reached US$339.94 billion, up 28.3 percent from a year earlier, while imports totaled US$269.89 billion, up 20.5 percent year-on-year, leading to a trade surplus of US$70.05 billion, up 71.0 percent from a year earlier.

At a news conference, Beatrice Tsai, director-general of the MOF's Department of Statistics, highlighted the growing demand for artificial intelligence applications and cloud services, which continue to prompt foreign buyers to place orders for Taiwan-made tech products, including semiconductors. This demand served as a driver for July's outbound sales growth. Additionally, efforts to avoid the impact of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration further boosted Taiwan's exports in the month. On Aug. 7, U.S. blanket tariffs went into effect with Taiwan facing 20 percent, down from 32 percent initially announced by the White House after negotiations.

In July, Taiwan's exports of information and communications and video/audio products hit a new high of US$24.23 billion, soaring 87.1 percent from a year earlier due to strong demand for computer components and accessories, switches, and routers, the MOF reported. In the same month, Taiwan's electronic components industry posted US$18.42 billion in exports, up 34.1 percent from a year earlier, with semiconductor sales rising 35.9 percent to US$17.26 billion.

Old economy industries experienced mixed performance in July, as noted by the MOF. The machinery industry, for instance, benefited from semiconductor suppliers' efforts to expand production, with exports rising 14.0 percent from a year earlier to about US$2.30 billion. The electric machinery industry generated US$1.25 billion in exports in July, up 14.8 percent, as AI applications boosted demand for power management solutions and cooling equipment.

Conversely, the base metal and plastics/rubber industries faced declines of 1.8 percent and 4.6 percent in exports, respectively, with US$2.25 billion and US$1.49 billion in July, according to the MOF. Tsai noted that Taiwan's major buyers all recorded increased purchases from Taiwanese exporters, with the United States emerging as the largest market after buying US$18.65 billion in goods, a new high, up 62.8 percent from a year earlier. July marked the third consecutive month the U.S. ranked as the No. 1 buyer of Taiwan's goods, with exports to the U.S. in the first seven months of this year totaling US$97.54 billion.

China and Hong Kong ranked second, purchasing US$14.37 billion worth of goods from Taiwan in July, up 23.9 percent, followed by the ASEAN bloc, which bought US$11.63 billion in goods from Taiwan, a new high, up 71.6 percent from a year earlier. Looking ahead, the MOF stated that Taiwan is expected to continue benefiting from the booming AI era, while the country's semiconductor suppliers are likely to upgrade their processes to boost sales. However, uncertainties over international trade and geopolitical unease could still undermine the global economy, the MOF cautioned.