The US and the EU were yesterday to announce a joint effort aimed at identifying semiconductor supply disruptions as well as countering Russian disinformation, officials said.
Top US officials are visiting the French scientific hub of Saclay for a meetup of the Trade and Technology Council, created last year as China increasingly exerts its technology clout.
US officials acknowledged that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has broadened the council’s scope, but said the Western bloc still has its eye on competition from China.
Photo: AFP
The two sides will announce an “early warning system” for semiconductors supply disruptions, hoping to avoid excessive competition between Western powers for the vital tech component.
The industry has suffered from a shortage of components for chipmaking, blamed on a boom in global demand for electronic products and pandemic-snarled supply chains.
“We hope to agree on high levels of subsidies — that they will not be more than what is necessary and proportionate and appropriate,” European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager told reporters on Sunday.
The aim is that “as both Washington and Brussels look to encourage semiconductor investment in our respective countries, we do so in a coordinated fashion and don’t simply encourage a subsidy race,” a US official said separately, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The US already put in place its own early warning system last year that looked at supply chains in Southeast Asia and “has been very helpful in helping us get ahead of a couple of potential shutdowns earlier this year,” the US official said.
The official added that the two sides are looking ahead to supply disruptions caused by pandemic lockdowns in China — the only major economy still hewing to a “zero COVID” strategy.
Separately, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol indicated that his new government would take part in a regional economic group US President Joe Biden is expected to soon unveil.
Yoon told parliament yesterday that he wanted to discuss with Biden when they meet later this week how his government can contribute to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The pact is supposed to help in coordination of regional supply chains, infrastructure and other areas.
South Korea is a major producer of semiconductors and Yoon has backed Biden’s supply chain initiatives.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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