- Trade between Taiwan and Belgium
In 2023, Belgium was the 28th largest trade partner of Taiwan while Taiwan was the 32st trade partner of Belgium, with trade volume between the two countries totaling US$ 3,462 million, a 5.908% decrease in comparison to 2022.
Taiwan’s export to Belgium stood at US$ 2,644 million in 2023. Important items include base metal, bicycles and parts thereof, chemicals, electronic integrated circuits, bolts and nuts and optical instruments. During the same period Taiwan's import from Belgium was US$ 818 million. Important items include automobiles, pharmaceuticals, integrated circuits, chemicals and machine tools.
- Investment between Taiwan and Belgium
From 1952 to 2023, the accumulated bilateral investments between Belgium and Taiwan amounted to US$ 298 million. The cumulative FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) of Taiwan to Belgium added up to US$ 104 million, while the cumulative FDI from Belgium to Taiwan totalled US$ 193 million. Several Belgian companies have established subsidiaries or branch offices in Taiwan including Barco, Agfa Gevaert, Dredging International, IMEC, Jan De Nul, Solvay, UCB, Umicore, Velleman Components, Heraeus Electro-nite and Huvepharma. Also quite a number of Taiwanese companies have set up operating centres or subsidiaries in Belgium to serve the European market, including Evergreen (maritime transport), Yang-Ming (maritime transport), Macronix (memory semiconductor solutions), United Taiwan Bank , ASE (advanced semiconductor engineering), ATEN (KVM switches) and R&G equipment (horse equipment).
- Important Business Events
The Taiwan-Belgium Joint Business Council meeting is the most important annual business event since 2015. The meeting is jointly organized by the Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association of Taiwan, the Flanders Investment & Trade of Flanders Region, the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency of Walloon Region, Brussels Invest & Export of Brussels-Capital Region, hub.brussels. In the meeting, representative of companies and sector-specific experts from both countries gather together, exchanging views on the latest technology and market development in both countries and exploring possible fields for cooperation.
The 23nd edition of the Taiwan-Belgium Joint Business Council meeting was held in Brussels on December 4th, 2023. The focus of the meeting was "automatic machinery and green technology".
- Bilateral Agreements
Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement
Investment relations between Taiwan and Belgium received a boost on 13th October 2004 when the Belgian Office, Taipei and the Taipei Representative Office in Belgium signed the "Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income" in Brussels. The agreement entered into force on 1st January 2006. Under the agreement individuals, companies or other bodies of persons residing in Taiwan and/or Belgium will be able to avoid heavy tax burdens on business profits, profits from shipping and air transport, dividends, interests, royalties, income derived from dependent personal services etc.
Full text of the agreement can be downloaded here.
