The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on Tuesday passed a proposed European Chips Act, with Taiwan listed as one of its target partners to achieve supply chain resiliency.
The global semiconductor shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to end, with Swedish auto manufacturer Volvo AB last week saying it was shutting down operations at its plant in Ghent, Belgium, for a week due to a chip shortage.
Realizing the strategic importance of chip supply, many Western governments have proposed bills to achieve supply chain autonomy.
Photo: Bart van Overbeeke Fotografie / ASML / Reuters
The European Commission last year proposed the European Chips Act, whose goals include doubling the region’s global market share of semiconductors from 10 percent to at least 20 percent by 2030.
The draft bill was passed by the committee, with 67 votes in favor and only one against it.
The act aims to bolster technological capacity building, production and innovation, and build a mechanism to monitor the semiconductor supply chain and coordinate actions during a crisis.
Article 7 of the act says that building partnerships with chip-producing countries is important to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, and ensure security of supply and resilience, so the European Commission, with assistance from the European Semiconductor Board, should seek important partners.
Many legislators, including European Parliament Vice President Nicola Beer, who visited Taiwan last year, have proposed similar amendments to the act, and listed Taiwan as an important partner.
A diplomat who is familiar with the European Parliament told the Central News Agency that it is very rare for Taiwan to be mentioned in a proposed EU law.
The amended Article 7 of the act stipulates that the European Commission should seek like-minded strategic partners, such as global semiconductor leaders Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the US.
It encourages the EU to engage in semiconductor diplomacy to improve its resilience in facing challenges such as supply chain disruptions, and requires the bloc to establish a chip diplomacy mechanism, strike trade and investment agreements or seek other diplomatic measures with partners.
The proposed European Chips Act next goes through interparliamentary meetings when the European Parliament holds its plenary session in Strasbourg, France, from Feb. 13 to 16.
If unopposed, the proposal is to be passed on to the European Council for negotiations among member states’ representatives, and promulgated if a consensus is reached.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS