American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan

American Chamber of Commerce
in Taiwan
台灣美國商會

• 
  Current logo

Founded	1951
Type	Taipei City Taiwan
Area served	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Key people	Dan Silver, Chairperson (2024-present) Patrick P. Lin, President (2023-)
Website	amcham.com.tw

The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham Taiwan;

An elected Board of Governors oversees AmCham, and chooses one of its members to serve as Chairperson for a one-year term. The Board also hires a president to guide the overall direction and manage the day-to-day affairs of the Chamber. The current president is Patrick P. Lin.[1]

Activities

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AmCham Taiwan represents its diverse membership in government advocacy efforts, provides a forum for networking and access to information, and encourages civic-minded participation in the greater Taiwan community.

Committees

Much of AmCham's advocacy efforts begin in one of 26 committees, whose fields of activity range from agro-chemical, banking, and semiconductor to digital economy, public health and travel & tourism. Most committees formulate a priority issues paper included in the Taiwan White Paper.

Taiwan White Paper

Each year, AmCham publishes a white paper that summarizes AmCham's recommendations to the government and public on legislative, regulatory and enforcement issues that have a major impact on the quality of the business environment. The primary purposes are information and advocacy. The paper assesses the Taiwan business climate on both the macro level and sector by sector. It provides a review of the status of last year's priority issues, states the current issues identified by AmCham's industry-specific committees, and offers recommendations to the U.S. government.

Taiwan Business TOPICS

The Chamber's flagship publication provides year-round reporting and policy analysis in support of Chamber advocacy. First issued in 1969, TOPICS has become the definitive voice on the Taiwan business climate for executives, government officials, the media, and academics. The magazine appears monthly and enjoys widespread distribution to prominent officials, elected representatives, and think tanks in the United States and Taiwan. The June issue is devoted to the Taiwan White Paper.^[2]

Hsieh Nien Fan

An AmCham tradition since 1970, the Hiseh Nien Fan (End of the Year) banquet is an opportunity to thank Taiwan government officials for their assistance in the previous year. Customarily, Taiwan's sitting president is the keynote speaker.^[3][4] In 2023, American Institute in Taiwan chair Laura Rosenberger delivered remarks.^[5]

Washington “Doorknock”

Once a year, an AmCham delegation meets with senior officials in the U.S. Administration and on Capitol Hill to discuss international business concerns regarding U.S.-Taiwan trade and commerce.

Surveys

A late 2022 AmCham Taiwan survey found that 33% of company respondents said their operations were "significantly disrupted" amid rising tensions in Cross-Strait relations.^[6]

History

AmCham registered with the Taipei City Government on 14 September 1951. The heads of five U.S. companies—three trading companies and the oil companies Caltex and Standard Vacuum (the precursor of both Exxon and Mobil)—joined together originally to lobby Washington to open Taiwan's procurement of equipment, raw materials, and commodities to U.S. private companies.^[7]

After this early success, AmCham grew, with early members including Eli Lilly, Mattel, Timex, and distributors for U.S. motion pictures. By the 1960s, the Chamber was developing into an active professional organization: In 1967, it held its first formal breakfast meeting; in 1968, it became a founding member of the new

General Instrument's decision in 1964 to set up a subsidiary on the island to make various electronic components was a pioneering investment that prompted other major U.S. electronics companies to follow suit and laid the groundwork for Taiwan's entry into consumer electronics, which eventually led to the production of computers, semiconductors, and flat panel displays.^[9] General Instrument grew into one of Taiwan's biggest employers; by 1980, it had 10,000 workers.^[10]

American firms also helped advance Taiwan's 10 Big Projects, which in the 1970s provided the infrastructure foundation for the island's future economic prosperity. For Taiwan's first international-standard freeway—the

Following the shock of U.S. recognition of the People's Republic of China, AmCham's leadership played an instrumental role in determining the form of the continued U.S. relationship with Taiwan.[11]

In 1976, under the chairmanship of Marinus “Dutch” van Gessel, AmCham made the strategic decision not to oppose the improvement of U.S. relations with mainland China—as long as it was not done at the expense of Taiwan. Van Gessel had previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the

Van Gessel also testified before a Congressional committee in 1977, and he organized a letter-writing campaign to Congressional offices and others in Washington to argue that the U.S. commitment to Taiwan's security was not only a military and diplomatic issue, but also crucial to the stability of the business environment.[11]

The Shanghai Communique of 1972 made clear that the U.S. and China intended to normalize relations. Nevertheless, the timing of President Carter's announcement of derecognition of the R.O.C. in December 1978 caught Taiwan, and the American business community there, by surprise. According to the Chamber, "AmCham did not object to U.S. recognition of the PRC per se, but strongly objected to the terms of the agreement and to the discourtesy of the lack of proper advance notice to Taiwan."^[11]

Robert P. Parker (AmCham chairman in 1979 and 1980) played a key role in helping to reaffirm U.S. friendship with Taiwan. In February 1979, he represented AmCham in testimony before the

In his remarks, Parker emphasized that “normalization” jeopardized American economic interests in Taiwan and offered specific proposals for correcting the proposed legislation's failure to provide adequately for the security of Taiwan from threat or use of coercion from mainland China, as well as failure to offer a clear and sufficient legal framework for the continuation of U.S.-Taiwan relationships sufficient for continued trade and investment.[11]

Parker noted that the prompt enactment of these specific proposals “would not only be in the interest of American business, [but also] necessary to meet our country’s moral responsibilities to Taiwan and its people.”^[12]

The final version of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) saw virtually all of AmCham's principal recommendations written into law.^[11]

Managing the Impact of Derecognition

In the wake of the official switch of U.S. diplomatic relations, uncertainty surrounded the potential impact on Americans and other foreign residents in Taiwan. As the U.S. embassy in Taipei wrapped up its operations, AmCham stepped in to serve as the main conduit for communication with the Taiwan authorities to preserve or establish needed expatriate community organizations.

AmCham worked to establish

• United States Chamber of Commerce
• US-Taiwan Business Council
• Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC)
• American Institute in Taiwan

References