Va. trade office opens in Taiwan

Virginia has opened its trade office in Taiwan.

Announced in April, the office is Virginia’s fourth international trade office and follows Youngkin’s meeting with Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, during the governor’s first international trade mission.

Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick was joined by Liang-yu Wang, director general of Taiwan’s Department of North American Affairs in its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as officials from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership for the opening ceremony in the country’s capital of Taipei Tuesday morning.

One employee will staff the office, VEDP spokesperson Suzanne Clark said in an email.

The Virginia-Taiwan Trade Office was established by Executive Order 25 to strengthen the business ties between Virginia and Taiwan, an island of 23 million people off the coast of China. The announcement also comes amid tense relations between the U.S. and China, and occurred just months after Youngkin pulled out of a $3.5 billion economic development deal that could have brought an electric vehicle battery plant to Pittsylvania County over concerns about China’s involvement in the deal.

“Taiwan represents a significant market for foreign direct investment and international trade, and the new Virginia-Taiwan Trade Office will strategically position the commonwealth for economic development opportunities,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Taiwan as we actively work to recruit Taiwanese companies and encourage trade with Virginia businesses.”

Virginia exported $730 million in products to Taiwan in 2022 and imported $1 billion in goods from the island. The Virginia-Taiwan Trade Office will offer services to help Taiwanese companies with opportunities in Virginia, bring investment and new jobs to the commonwealth and further open markets for Virginia products. A memorandum of understanding signed between Virginia and Taiwan in April also commits to collaboration in research, innovation and critical global industries such as consumer electronics.

Taiwan is a global leader in the semiconductor industry, and Virginia has launched a workforce initiative around growth for that sector in the state that includes businesses and academia.

VEDP also has trade offices in Germany, Japan and South Korea.