A recent meeting of the “Fab 4” alliance focused on establishing an early warning system for the semiconductor industry to improve supply chain resilience, a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official said on Saturday.
Responding to reports earlier on Saturday that the four countries in the alliance — Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the US — held a videoconference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the meeting was held on Feb. 16.
It was the first formal meeting of the alliance, also known as the “Chip 4,” following a preparatory meeting held virtually in September last year after months of coordination among the four countries, the ministry said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
An MOEA official said that Taiwanese representatives at the one-hour meeting stressed the importance of creating an early warning system that covered all aspects of the complicated semiconductor supply chain, including raw materials and equipment.
The early warning system is critical, given the major chip shortages that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the four nations involved to communicate effectively to predict when other supply chain issues could occur, the official said.
An early warning system would also undoubtedly benefit Taiwanese IC suppliers, and even the local supply chain, the official added.
The US-led Chip 4 alliance is widely seen as a Washington initiative to contain Beijing in the cutting-edge sector.
However, the official said that the one-hour meeting did not touch on export controls or ties with China.
US President Joe Biden’s administration issued sweeping new rules in October last year that include restrictions on the supply of US manufacturers’ most advanced chipmaking equipment to Chinese customers and limits on Americans working for Chinese semiconductor firms, a move aimed at choking off access to certain expertise.
China, the top trading partner of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, has said that the US effort showed its “selfish hegemonic interest.”
The US has secured an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan to restrict exports of some advanced chipmaking machinery to China.
At the Feb. 16 meeting, the US representatives emphasized the complementary nature of the alliance in the global semiconductor supply chain, with Taiwan and South Korea’s expertise in manufacturing, the US’ upper hand in equipment supplies and IC design, and Japan’s edge in IC material supplies, the MOEA official said.
The meeting was hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taipei, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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