Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.
Last Published: 11/8/2019
Taiwan acceded to the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in July 2009. According to Taiwan's GPA Agreement, U.S. and other foreign firms now compete on equal terms with domestic firms when government tenders for entities covered under the agreement meet or exceed the following threshold values:
  • Public contracts for goods and services valued at $194,000 or for construction services valued at $7.45 million.
  • State-level government contracts for goods and services valued at $296,000 or for construction services valued at $7.45 million.
  • Government-controlled entity (such as utilities and universities/colleges) contracts for goods and services valued at $593,000 or for construction services valued at $7.45 million.
According to Taiwan’s Public Construction Commission, foreign firms won 20,100 contracts under the GPA worth a total of about $9.16 billion in 2016 (the most recent statistics available). U.S. firms won 7,862 (39.11 percent) contracts with a total value of $3.00 (32.77 percent) billion. Most of the procuring entities were public agencies and state-owned enterprises, hospitals, and universities. Advanced laboratory and testing instruments, power generation equipment, environmental control devices, aviation equipment, atmospheric monitoring instruments, advanced medical devices, and specialty chemicals such as additives and catalysts can be considered best prospects for U.S. firms that are interested in selling to Taiwan.

In response to foreign companies’ concerns about maintaining fairness in contractual obligations, Taiwan's Public Construction Commission has prepared a model contract template as a reference for government procuring entities. The conditions in this model contract are the same for all bidders, domestic or foreign. **Note: Although the website is in Chinese, the pdf version is in both English and Chinese.**

U.S. exporters are also encouraged to visit the Taiwan Government Procurement Website.


Advocacy
U.S. companies bidding on Government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. A unit of the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters bidding on public sector contracts with international governments and government agencies. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. Government agencies expressing support for the U.S. bidders directly to the foreign government. Click here for more information.


Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales
Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). Please refer to the Project Financing Section in Trade and Project Financing for more information. A helpful guide for working with the MDBs is the Guide to Doing Business with the Multilateral Development Banks.


The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (USDOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.


 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.