Taiwan exported US$87.22 billion of goods in September 2026, up 60.9% from a year earlier, according to Ministry of Finance figures released October 8. Imports climbed 51.7% to US$63.59 billion. The resulting US$23.63 billion surplus covers trade with all partners; it is not Taiwan’s surplus with the United States.

The ministry’s detailed release makes the US exposure clearer. Taiwan sent US$27.46 billion of goods to the United States and imported US$4.81 billion from it in September. Subtracting the two gives a bilateral goods surplus of about US$22.65 billion for that month. That is close to the overall surplus, though the two measures answer different questions.

The big change

  • What changed: US-bound shipments more than doubled from a year earlier and accounted for 31.5% of Taiwan’s September exports. Taiwan’s export record is increasingly tied to its largest destination in the ministry’s table.
  • Why it matters: The US bought far more goods from Taiwan than Taiwan bought from the US in the same month. That imbalance gives trade negotiators a concrete number to discuss, even as US technology buyers rely on Taiwanese supply.
  • What to watch: The ministry’s next release, scheduled for November 9, will show whether the unusually large US-bound flow continued in October. The September tables alone cannot identify how much was specifically ordered for AI systems.

What the trade tables show

Two broad product groups dominated September exports. Information, communication and audio-video products reached US$39.13 billion, or 44.9% of all exports, and grew 103.0% year on year. Parts of electronic products reached US$31.13 billion, or 35.7%, and grew 45.3%. Together they made up about 80.6% of Taiwan’s exports that month, calculated from the table’s values in US$ millions.

Those categories include goods used in AI infrastructure, but the published tables do not label an “AI” category. They also report products and destinations separately. From them, a reader cannot calculate the value of AI servers sent to the US, or assign a precise share of the export increase to AI demand.

The US was Taiwan’s largest listed export destination in September. Its US$27.46 billion of shipments, up 106.2% year on year, exceeded the US$20.62 billion sent to mainland China and Hong Kong combined. Taiwan imported US$4.81 billion from the US, up 15.5%. The gap between US-bound exports and US-origin imports explains the approximate US$22.65 billion bilateral surplus. Other trading relationships can run deficits, so a bilateral surplus can be almost as large as, or even exceed, the overall balance.

For January through September, the same partner tables show US$207.78 billion exported to the US and US$44.39 billion imported from it: an approximately US$163.39 billion bilateral surplus. The overall surplus for those nine months was US$160.55 billion. These are Taiwan’s merchandise-trade measures; they do not include services or tell us how much value Taiwanese companies retain from each shipment.

AI demand and tariff politics need separate evidence

Focus Taiwan’s October 8 report attributes the export surge to AI and other technology applications, inventory building ahead of consumer-device launches, and higher prices, citing Ministry of Finance statistics chief Beatrice Tsai. Those are the official’s explanation of the results, not an AI-only breakdown in the statistical tables.

A TechNews republication of Wealth Magazine reporting connects the widening US surplus to tariff concerns. It reports that Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator, urged Taiwan to explain how its technology exports serve US interests and to communicate its investment and purchasing commitments. Her advice describes a negotiating argument; it is not a tariff decision or a forecast derived from the September data.

The US Trade Representative’s February 2026 agreement fact sheet frames US–Taiwan trade talks around tariffs, market access, investment and procurement. September’s new bilateral numbers add scale to that discussion. They cannot, on their own, establish whether a future tariff will change, whether export growth will persist, or which buyers ordered which products.

Sources & further reading