EU countries on Wednesday agreed to a 45 billion euro (US$46.8 billion) plan to fund the production of chips, putting the 27-country bloc a step closer to its goal of reducing its reliance on US and Asian manufacturers.
EU envoys unanimously backed an amended version of the European Commission’s proposal, said the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the commission.
EU ministers are expected to meet on Thursday next week to rubber stamp the chip plan that would still need to be debated with the European Parliament next year before it could become law.
Photo: AFP
The EU executive, which is hoping state subsidies would help the bloc achieve a 20 percent share of global chip capacity by 2030, came up with its proposal after a global chip shortage and supply chain bottlenecks hit automakers, healthcare providers and telecommunications operators.
Europe’s share of chip production stands at 8 percent, down from 24 percent in 2000.
Changes agreed by the envoys to the commission’s proposal included allowing state subsidies for a broader range of chips — and not just the most advanced ones.
The subsidies would cover chips that bring innovation in computing power, energy efficiency, environmental gains and artificial intelligence.
EU countries sought to curb the powers of the commission, the EU executive, saying its requests to companies for information during a crisis must be proportionate and security-focused, an EU document showed.
EU lawmakers face the task of thrashing out funding for the project, the document said.
The commission had earmarked money from research programs and unspent funds from other schemes, drawing criticism from some EU countries that this could unfairly benefit countries that already have chip facilities or are already set to attract chipmakers.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) yesterday said it expects any impact of new tariffs from US president-elect Donald Trump to hit the company less than its rivals, citing its global manufacturing footprint. Young Liu (劉揚偉), chairman of the contract manufacturer and key Apple Inc supplier, told reporters after a forum in Taipei that it saw the primary impact of any fresh tariffs falling on its clients because its business model is based on contract manufacturing. “Clients may decide to shift production locations, but looking at Foxconn’s global footprint, we are ahead. As a result, the impact on us is likely smaller compared to
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
RSS