US chip officials to visit Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, potentially seeking consensus on China's chip export controls.
US chip officials to visit Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, potentially seeking consensus on China's chip export controls. The visit marks the first travel of officials from the US Commerce Department's CHIPS Program Office since its establishment in September 2021. It is unclear whether they will meet with the senior executives of Taiwan's major semiconductor company TSMC. Director Schmidt briefed a few Asia-Pacific media on the day of the officials' departure, but the US Commerce Department's website has not yet released any related statements.
It is worth noting that the US has been putting more emphasis on chip manufacturing and supply chain security in recent years, and China's position as a major player in the chip industry has been a concern for the US government. In September 2020, the US Department of Commerce placed restrictions on China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) due to its alleged involvement in military activities, which limited SMIC's ability to obtain certain American technologies.
The US officials' visit to South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan can be seen as a move to strengthen cooperation with its allies in the region to build a more resilient and secure global chip supply chain.
In addition to the US officials' trip to Asia, the Biden administration has also taken a number of steps to address the chip supply chain issue, such as allocating $52 billion to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research, and launching a review of supply chain vulnerabilities across various industries.
The global chip shortage, which has affected various industries from automotive to consumer electronics, has highlighted the importance of a secure and stable chip supply chain. As the US seeks to reduce its dependence on China and build a more robust supply chain, it is likely that it will continue to work closely with its allies in the region and invest heavily in domestic chip manufacturing.
In the briefing, Schmidt stated that "as semiconductor and technology continue to evolve, the US will continue to work with ally partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malicious actors cannot use the latest technology to undermine our collective economic and national security."
"When implementing the Chip Act, the Commerce Department has been in close contact with major partners and allies, including the authorities of South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, as well as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the EU-US Trade and Technology Council, and the North American Leaders' Summit," Schmidt added.
On the same day, the US Commerce Department announced proposed rules to establish "guardrails" for chip incentive programs involving national security, to promote US technology and national security and prevent $52 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research funds from flowing to countries of concern, including the People's Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
Lotta Danielson, Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, stated in an interview with Voice of America that she believes the purpose of the US Commerce Department's chip officials visiting Taiwan is to understand Taiwan's progress in chip development and potential opportunities for semiconductor cooperation between the two sides.
"For example, like FAB outsourcing, and what Taiwan is doing in participating in what the US is pushing for, such as export controls. I think the US wants to better understand the relationship between the US and Taiwan's semiconductor industry," Danielson said.
Danielson also noted that the current bilateral trade relations between the US and Taiwan, including the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue (EPPD), focus on the semiconductor issue. While she has not seen any official statement from the US Commerce Department regarding the chip officials' visit to Taiwan, she confirms that the US government is interested in better understanding Taiwan's current thinking, what they want to promote, and how to cooperate with Taiwan on what the US is trying to do.
As the US officials' visit to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan is part of the "Quad Alliance" on chips, which is also organized by the US, Danielson believes that the primary agenda for the US will be on the topic of more export controls.
