Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) was established on September 1, 1976 as the first private independent think tank in Taiwan. The main purpose of the institute is to actively engage in research on domestic and foreign macroeconomics and industrial economics in order to provide consultations to the government and enterprises and to promote Taiwan’s economic development.
After a delay of 15 years, there are signs that the push for a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Taiwan and the US is inevitable. Five major elements leading to the right circumstances for an FTA — the international situation, exchanges between Taipei and Washington, cross-strait relations, Taiwanese’s civil awareness and consumer rights protections — have fallen into place.