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Murrumbateman, NSW 2582, Australia
Taiwan is one of Asia’s most dynamic economies, underpinned by global leadership in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and information technology. For Australia, Taiwan is an important trading partner and a growing source of investment. In 2024 Australia and Taiwan traded goods and services worth A$30.6 billion, with Australia exporting A$20.4 billion and importing A$9.4 billion in goods, and netting a services surplus. Taiwan’s investment stock in Australia stood at A$23.3 billion, while Australian investment in Taiwan reached A$35.1 billion
Two-way goods and services trade between Australia and Taiwan reached A$30.6 billion in 2024. Australia’s exports to Taiwan were valued at A$20.4 billion, while imports from Taiwan totalled A$9.4 billion. Services trade added a further A$2.5 billion.
Australia is Taiwan’s number one energy supplier, underpinning Taiwan’s energy security and industrial production. In 2024, exports included $7.2 billion worth of coal, $5.6 billion of natural gas, and iron ore and concentrates worth $2 billion. Australia also exports beef and other agricultural products to Taiwan.
In addition to bulk commodities, Australian food, beverage, and health products have gained popularity in Taiwan’s consumer market. Education and tourism also represent significant service exports, with Taiwan a source of international students and visitors to Australia.
In 2024, Australia imported A$9.4 billion worth of goods from Taiwan. This includes a wide range of manufactured goods, reflecting its position in global electronics and machinery supply chains. Australia’s top 5 imports include refined petroleum, telecommunications equipment and parts, computers and electronic components, inorganic chemicals, and motorcycles and bicycles. These imports highlight Taiwan’s role as a hub for advanced manufacturing, complementing Australia’s strength in resources and agriculture.
Services play an important role in the relationship, with two-way services trade valued at A$2.5 billion in 2024. Australia exported A$1.7 billion in services to Taiwan and imported A$852 million.
Education and tourism are key exports. Taiwan is Australia’s 18th largest source of international student enrolments, with further growth potential as Taiwan seeks to up-skill its workforce. Before the pandemic, Taiwan was Australia’s 13th largest source of visitors. The mutual working holidaymaker arrangement further strengthens people-to-people ties.
Taiwan’s total stock of investment in Australia reached A$23.3 billion in 2024, an increase of 26 percent on the previous year. Taiwanese investment is strongest in minerals and resources but is expanding into biomedicine, renewable energy, energy storage, tourism infrastructure, food, and financial services.
In the other direction, Australian investment in Taiwan has grown in line with Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, particularly in advanced technology and the energy sector. The global energy transition has created new opportunities for two-way investment in renewables and clean energy projects.
Although Australia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan under the One-China policy, both sides maintain strong unofficial ties through representative offices in Taipei and Canberra. The relationship is supported by annual Bilateral Economic Consultations, along with regular forums such as the Joint Energy and Minerals, Trade and Investment Cooperation (JEMTIC) consultations, and the Agricultural Working Group. These mechanisms provide platforms to address market access, investment, and regulatory issues.
While there is no bilateral free trade agreement, cooperation takes place through regional and multilateral initiatives, including the Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Arrangement (IPETCA), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Global Cooperation and Training Framework. Together, these arrangements sustain a comprehensive structure for trade and investment engagement despite the absence of a free trade agreement.
Taiwan is a significant trade and investment partner for Australia, offering complementary strengths across resources, manufacturing, and services. Looking ahead, opportunities in green energy, technology, and education are likely to shape the next phase of the relationship. Strengthening economic ties with Taiwan supports Australia’s broader objectives of diversification, supply chain resilience, and engagement with Asia’s dynamic economies.
For further information, readers can consult the DFAT country brief on Taiwan at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, the Australia-Taiwan Business Council, and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia website.
Even jobs you’d think are 100 percent Australian rely on our international trade and investment. Our health care professionals rely on a lot of technology, treatment methods and drugs imported from overseas. Our teachers use computers and classroom materials often sourced from other countries and teaching methods developed in classrooms around the world. Our police drive patrol cars built overseas.
Australia’s international trade and investment relationships also give us access to an array of ideas and information that we generally take for granted. Books, movies, music, computer programs, medical procedures, industrial designs– Australians contribute to, and take from, the huge global market for these ideas. Australia’s trade in intellectual property has a major impact on our way of life.
There can be negative consequences from our reliance on international trade and investment. When our trade partners unfairly block our exports, Australian businesses can lose sales and suffer financially. Equally, were the Australian Government to unfairly block or restrict imports or exports, our relationships with international partners can suffer. Using trade as a weapon can hurt businesses and erode trust between countries. The environmental impact of international trade has also attracted a lot of attention as a possible negative consequence of Australia’s reliance on international trade and investment.
Despite these potential negative consequences, the lives of the vast majority of Australians are sustained and directed in some way by the goods, services, ideas and money that flow between Australia and other countries. It’s easy to ignore this impact when trade and investment flow. And for much of our history before and after the arrival of Europeans, Australia’s trade and investment has continued to flow though buffeted by geopolitics, changes in technology and consumer trends, and times when people wanted to close themselves off from the world and turn inward.
At ACITI, we believe international trade and investment make an important contribution to the Australian way of life. We believe it’s important that Australians have access to information on our trade and investment practice, profile, policy and research so you can better understand how international trade and investment impacts on you.
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