The economic growth in the past twenty years, however, has transformed Taiwan's status vis-a-vis its trading partners. In 1984, the island was the third largest exporter to the United States, shipping $ 9.8 billion worth of goods.
以台灣的土地與資源，在國際上可以說是「貌不驚人」，因此過去我們限制某些外國產品進口、或課以重稅等做法，別人不太在意；但去年我國對美貿易出超額達九十八億美元，僅次於日本、加拿大，為美國第三大貿易逆差國。