Taiwan should join any global semiconductor supply chain alliance against China to protect its technological advantage and national security, according to Wang Che-jen (汪哲仁), an assistant research fellow at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
In a paper titled “Automotive chip shortage: A look at Taiwan’s strategic place in the semiconductor supply chain,” Wang wrote that a shortage of automotive chips has highlighted Taiwan’s strategic place in the global semiconductor industry.
The shortage shows that the supply chain for such products has become a matter of diplomatic, security and strategic concern, he added.
Photo: Ben Blanchard, Reuters
One of the ways technologically advanced nations are tackling the problem is by attracting foreign chipmakers to set up plants on their soil, Wang said.
The US and Japanese governments, for example, have invited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to build facilities, he said.
However, Wang warned against such a move, saying that while it might help shorten global supply chains, it could also weaken Taiwan’s strategic advantage in the semiconductor industry.
“For Taiwan to maintain its ‘silicon shield,’ it needs to persuade European countries and the US that keeping TSMC in Taiwan is the best option,” he wrote.
Wang also warned that Taiwan should beware of China’s efforts to poach talent, given the latter’s goal of becoming 70 percent self-sufficient in chip production by 2025.
“Judging from experience, China’s poaching efforts will only increase,” he said.
Meanwhile, the US semiconductor industry has been urging US President Joe Biden’s administration to form a semiconductor alliance with like-minded countries to prevent technological espionage by China, he said.
The government should guide Taiwan’s technology companies to join such an alliance to protect the nation’s technological advantage and national security, Wang said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) secured a record 70.2 percent share of the global foundry business in the second quarter, up from 67.6 percent the previous quarter, and continued widening its lead over second-placed Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Monday. TSMC posted US$30.24 billion in sales in the April-to-June period, up 18.5 percent from the previous quarter, driven by major smartphone customers entering their ramp-up cycle and robust demand for artificial intelligence chips, laptops and PCs, which boosted wafer shipments and average selling prices, TrendForce said in a report. Samsung’s sales also grew in the second quarter, up
LIMITED IMPACT: Investor confidence was likely sustained by its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as only less advanced chips are made in Nanjing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) saw its stock price close steady yesterday in a sign that the loss of the validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing, China, fab should have a mild impact on the world’s biggest contract chipmaker financially and technologically. Media reports about the waiver loss sent TSMC down 1.29 percent during the early trading session yesterday, but the stock soon regained strength and ended at NT$1,160, unchanged from Tuesday. Investors’ confidence in TSMC was likely built on its relatively small exposure to the Chinese market, as Chinese customers contributed about 9 percent to TSMC’s revenue last
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
UNCERTAINTY: A final ruling against the president’s tariffs would upend his trade deals and force the government to content with billions of dollars in refunds The legal fight over US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs is deepening after a federal appeals court ruled the levies were issued illegally under an emergency law, extending the chaos in global trade. A 7-4 decision by a panel of judges on Friday was a major setback for Trump, even as it gives both sides something to boast about. The majority upheld a May ruling by the Court of International Trade that the tariffs were illegal. However, the judges left the levies intact while the case proceeds, as Trump had requested, and suggested that any injunction could potentially be narrowed to apply
RSS