Founded in July 1989, the Brand International Promotion Association (BIPA) is a union of major Taiwan export manufacturers, dedicated to promoting Taiwan brand names in international markets.

In the Eighties, rising on-island costs forced Taiwan exporters to either move their product lines upscale, or move off-shore to less-expensive, labor-intensive countries in nearby Asia. Those who opted to stay are generally the higher end OEM (original equipment manufacturing) makers, or those who offer ODM (original design manufacturing, but for foreign brands) or their own brand manufacturing. Many Taiwan companies do a little of all three types of manufacturing.

As Taiwan continues its transition from dependency on low-end, labor-intensive products to higher-added value, original design products, the need for BIPA is ever more clear. Unlike Japan and Korea which have mega size, multinational corporations, Taiwan's bluechip exporters are small to medium size. This handicap in international marketing has forced them to resort to collective efforts to pool resources and share experiences to help one another learn how to create and build brands on an international scale.

Today, BIPA has more than 120 members. They cover the entire gamut of product categories, from high-end dress shoes to leisure wear, from hi-tech machinery to cutting edge computers and peripherals. BIPA boasts a cast of blue-ribbon exporters, some of which have already made an imprint in global markets with their own brands. New members are admitted after a screening process by the BIPA board of directors.