A new list of core technologies, including semiconductor process technologies, that are subject to tighter controls is not likely to affect Taiwanese vendors, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony where an agreement was signed on the formation of a 5G alliance in Taiwan, Wang said that the government had discussions with local chipmakers before the list was released.
“I do not think the controls will have any negative impact on Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers,” Wang said. “Instead, the controls aim to protect [Taiwan-developed] critical technologies.”
Photo courtesy of Ministry of Economic Affairs
On Tuesday, the National Science and Technology Council announced a set of 22 technologies subject to tight controls in five major areas: defense, aerospace, agriculture, semiconductors, and information and communications technology.
The 22 technologies include 14-nanometer and more advanced chipmaking process technologies and advanced IC packaging and testing technologies, including processes involving silicon photonics integration development and related specialty raw materials and equipment.
The National Security Act (國家安全法) stipulates that people who steal key technologies and leak them to China, Macau, Hong Kong or external hostile forces may be imprisoned for up to 12 years and fined up to two times the profit they garner.
Wang also cited the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), which states that companies that receive subsidies equal to more than 50 percent of their costs in developing critical technologies should secure approval before sending employees to China.
Industrial Development Administration Director-General Lien Ching-chang (連錦漳) on Tuesday said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is unlikely to be negatively affected by the technology controls.
TSMC deploys technologies in Taiwan that are more advanced than 14-nanometer processes, while in China it uses 14-to-16-nanometer processes, which account for 10 to 12 percent of its total sales.
“I don’t expect TSMC to be bothered by the newly announced technology controls,” Lien said, adding that the controls on 14-nanometer or more advanced processes were in line with international standards, referring to the US.
Taiwan accounts for more than 70 percent of global production of 14-nanometer and more advanced chips.
Smaller contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) said it would follow the new tech controls, adding that 14-nanometer process technology deployment is limited to Taiwan, while it uses 22 and 28-nanometer processes in China.
Taiwan Institute of Economics Research researcher Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said the government’s move to tighten controls on critical technologies is needed, as Taiwan not only has to build a local semiconductor supply chain, but also must prevent leaks, in particular at a time when China is keen to poach Taiwanese engineers.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for