How each Taiwanese buyer actually pays: deposits and L/Cs from distributors, monthly statements and netted-off deductions from retail chains, post-dated cheques a foreign company can’t deposit, marketplace payout cycles, 20% withholding on fees paid overseas, and a payment structure that keeps cash reaching you intact.
A Taiwan distribution agreement decides whether a brand keeps its market. Twelve clauses line by line — territory, exclusivity with automatic lapse, minimums, registration ownership and transfer, trademark, marketing and claims approval, reporting, product liability and recall, termination and transition, governing law — plus three red flags.
An import agent clears your goods; a distributor buys and sells them; an operator runs your Taiwan business on your behalf. Definitions, a comparison on stock, customer ownership, sales, control, data and cost, what each won’t do, a decision path by brand situation, and the hybrid most brands end up with.
Signing the wrong exclusive distributor is how foreign brands lose Taiwan. This guide separates the four roles (importer, registration holder, distributor, agent), lists five places to find partners, six vetting checks, the six contract clauses that matter — and the evidence-first alternative.
