Download When the Government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan in

Introduction
When the Government of the Republic of China
moved to Taiwan in early 1949, many aspects of
Taiwan's administration had been neglected and
there was a general lack of resources. At that
time, trade was regulated through the Business
and Finance Group of the Taiwan Provincial
Production Management Commission and the
Taiwan Provincial Foreign Exchange and Trade
Review Group.
The building of Bureau
of Foreign Trade
In 1955, the administration of trade was
transferred to the central government, and the
Foreign Exchange and Trade Review
Commission (or “Foreign Trade Commission”)
was set up under the Executive Yuan; the work of
the Working Committee on Foreign Exchange Revenue and Expenditure was also
brought under the auspices of the Foreign Trade Commission. The first Chairman
of the Foreign Trade Commission was Hsu, Po-yuan, who was then concurrently
Minister of Finance. In 1968 and 1969, the Executive Yuan reorganized the Foreign
Exchange and Trade Review Commission in line with new international trends by
dividing the Commission's authority and operations among the Ministry of Finance,
the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Central Bank of China, and by setting up
BOFT under the Ministry of Economic Affairs to administer trade in general
commercial goods.
The BOFT was formally established on January 1, 1969. Over the past 40
years, BOFT has undergone many structural adjustments to meet changes in the
international trade and economic environment. One example is the establishment
of a Kaohsiung office in July 1978 to meet the growing needs of companies in
southern Taiwan.
The BOFT will continue to reinforce the following tasks: actively participating in
WTO negotiations as well as APEC and OECD activities; strengthening bilateral
relations and negotiating FTAs; promoting trade liberalization and facilitation; and
selecting key markets to help industries radicated in Taiwan expand their export
markets. The BOFT will also draw up concrete measures to add new momentum to
Taiwan’s foreign trade, upgrade the competitiveness of our exports, and attain the
goal of sustainable economic development.