US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks.
The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said.
The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team.
Photo: Bloomberg
Biden officials have for months debated whether to initiate the investigation under Section 301, which allows the US to impose restrictions on countries with unfair trade practices, the people said.
This week, White House officials agreed to move forward with the inquiry that could help protect the US chip industry.
Approving the probe now means that the new Trump administration would likely have the option to impose trade restrictions to protect domestic semiconductor production in the early months of the president-elect’s term.
Bolstering the US semiconductor industry has been a key focus for Biden, who has taken steps to limit advanced US technology from being exported to China.
Biden signed into law a bill that provided billions of dollars of incentives for chipmakers to build semiconductor factories in the US to stave off a need for cheaper Chinese-made chips.
Spokespeople for the US National Security Council and the US trade representative declined to comment.
The White House in the past two years has implemented export restrictions on advanced semiconductors made with US and allied technology, but in the meantime, China has manufactured the older, widely available types of semiconductors at a lower cost than its competitors.
Officials in the Biden administration worry that without restrictions, Beijing would flood the US and global markets with inexpensive chips, undercutting other companies and running them out of business.
In May, the White House announced that by next year it would increase tariffs on Chinese legacy semiconductors to 50 percent from 25 percent.
However, the Biden team largely agreed that was not enough to prevent a market disruption, especially as the US is looking to increase domestic production of semiconductors.
To impose those tariffs, Biden used the same authority Trump employed to levy more than US$300 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods during his first term.
UNCERTAINTIES: Exports surged 34.1% and private investment grew 7.03% to outpace expectations in the first half, although US tariffs could stall momentum The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast to 3.05 percent this year on a robust first-half performance, but warned that US tariff threats and external uncertainty could stall momentum in the second half of the year. “The first half proved exceptionally strong, allowing room for optimism,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “But the growth momentum may slow moving forward due to US tariffs.” The tariff threat poses definite downside risks, although the scale of the impact remains unclear given the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s policies, Lien said. Despite the headwinds, Taiwan is likely
When Lika Megreladze was a child, life in her native western Georgian region of Guria revolved around tea. Her mother worked for decades as a scientist at the Soviet Union’s Institute of Tea and Subtropical Crops in the village of Anaseuli, Georgia, perfecting cultivation methods for a Georgian tea industry that supplied the bulk of the vast communist state’s brews. “When I was a child, this was only my mum’s workplace. Only later I realized that it was something big,” she said. Now, the institute lies abandoned. Yellowed papers are strewn around its decaying corridors, and a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin
UNIFYING OPPOSITION: Numerous companies have registered complaints over the potential levies, bringing together rival automakers in voicing their reservations US President Donald Trump is readying plans for industry-specific tariffs to kick in alongside his country-by-country duties in two weeks, ramping up his push to reshape the US’ standing in the global trading system by penalizing purchases from abroad. Administration officials could release details of Trump’s planned 50 percent duty on copper in the days before they are set to take effect on Friday next week, a person familiar with the matter said. That is the same date Trump’s “reciprocal” levies on products from more than 100 nations are slated to begin. Trump on Tuesday said that he is likely to impose tariffs
Japan is heavily investing in a new kind of ultra-thin, flexible solar panel that it hopes will help it meet renewable energy goals while challenging China’s dominance of the sector. Pliable perovskite panels are perfect for mountainous Japan, with its shortage of flat plots for traditional solar farms. A key component of the panels is iodine, something Japan produces more of than any country but Chile. The push faces some obstacles: Perovskite panels contain toxic lead, and, for now, produce less power and have shorter lifespans than their silicon counterparts. Still, with a goal of net zero by 2050 and a desire to
RSS