■ Semiconductors
Executives plead guilty
Three South Korean executives from Samsung Electronics Co agreed to plead guilty and serve jail time in California for participating in a conspiracy to fix the price of computer memory chips, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday. Each executive agreed to pay a US$250,000 fine, cooperate with US authorities on the investigation and serve prison sentences ranging from seven to eight months for their role in a scheme to raise prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) from 1999 to 2002. A federal judge in San Francisco must still approve the deal. Samsung, the world's largest maker of DRAM chips, said in a statement on Wednesday that the company was "strongly committed to fair competition and ethical practices and forbids anticompetitive behavior."
■ Automobiles
GM reaches deal with union
General Motors Corp on Wednesday agreed to an early retirement deal for more than 125,000 hourly workers, a key element in its massive restructuring plan. Subject to bankruptcy court approval, the deal with GM's main union and its bankrupt former parts subsidiary Delphi Corp could help avert a potentially crippling strike at Delphi, which faces a March 30 deadline to void its union contracts. The agreement also will facilitate plans by the world's largest automaker to eliminate 30,000 workers by 2008 as it attempts to cut costs after posting a US$10.6 billion loss last year. Union members at both GM and Delphi who are already eligible to retire with full benefits will be offered a US$35,000 cash bonus to do so, the United Auto Workers (UAW) said in a statement. GM workers who are within three years of eligibility will be offered monthly payments until it is time for them to retire with full benefits. All other GM employees will be offered a buyout of up to US$140,000 in exchange for giving up retirement health care and other benefits, the union said.
■ Trade
EU adopts shoe duties
The European Commission yesterday formally approved the introduction of anti-dumping duties on leather shoes imported from China and Vietnam, a plan that has generated protests by both Asian countries. "The European Commission has adopted proposals by European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty on leather shoes from China and Vietnam," it said in a statement. Brussels has said it found evidence of state intervention helping shoemakers in China and Vietnam and it will impose duties of 16.8 percent on shoes from Vietnam and 19.4 percent from China to be phased in over five months from April 7. Sports shoes and footwear for children will be exempted from the duties. China has said it might consider a complaint to the WTO.
■ Trade
US, EU agree on tariff cuts
The US and EU on Wednesday agreed to cut several tariffs for US farm and industrial goods being exported to 10 EU member states which joined the bloc in 2004. The EU will reduce tariffs on some goods, such as chemicals and fish, and expand tariff quotas for other US exports like boneless ham, poultry and chocolate, the US Trade Representative's office said. The changes will go into effect no later than July 1.
The deal was signed in Geneva by the US and EU ambassadors to the WTO.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
RSS