Taiwan yesterday welcomed an act proposed by the EU that aims to enable the bloc to work more closely with global leaders in the semiconductor industry, such as Taiwan.
On Tuesday, the European Commission unveiled the proposed European chips act, which neutralizes strict rules governing state aid to encourage companies such as Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to build more microprocessors in the region.
Under the act, the commission plans to allocate 11 billion euros (US$12.58 billion) in public funds for the research, design and manufacture of semiconductors, with the goal of mobilizing a total of 43 billion euros of public and private investment until 2030 to expand the EU’s global market share of semiconductors from its current 9 percent to 20 percent.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) yesterday expressed the government’s receptiveness toward the proposal, which could enhance Taiwan-EU cooperation in bilateral investment and trade.
The ministry believes there is tremendous room for cooperation between Taiwan and the EU in the semiconductor industry, reconstructing the global supply chain and bolstering democratic resilience in the post-COVID-19 era, Ou said.
Taiwan is ready to explore innovative measures to continue to deepen collaboration with the EU and its member states, based on existing communication channels, she added.
As stated in the act, only two companies in the world, one being TSMC, are capable of manufacturing the most advanced semiconductors.
“As a first step, the above will be explored — using existing or new fora — with like-minded partners, such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and others,” the act says.
At a press event to unveil the act on Tuesday, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager and European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton lauded Taiwan’s leading position in the semiconductor industry, while reiterating the EU’s offer to TSMC to invest in Europe.
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