Under Joe Biden’s direction, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said Monday that China’s unfair trade practices threaten U.S. national security and could impede U.S. efforts to build a domestic semiconductor supply chain. The company has launched an investigation into China’s plans to dominate the legacy chip market globally. .
Unlike the cutting-edge chips used to power artificial intelligence, which are currently in short supply, these legacy chips rely on older manufacturing processes and are prevalent in mass-market products. They are used in technological fields such as automobiles, military vehicles, medical equipment, smartphones, consumer electronics, and space projects.
China apparently “plans to build more than 60% of the world’s new legacy chip production capacity over the next 10 years,” and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said this would “disincentivize investment in other countries and create unfair Reuters reported that there is evidence that the two countries constitute “a strong competition.”
Although most people who purchase common goods, including government agencies, are unaware that they are using Chinese chips, this study sends a warning everywhere Chinese chips are found in the United States. The aim is to solve this problem. “Two-thirds of U.S. products that use chips have Chinese legacy chips, and half of U.S. companies, including those in the defense industry, don’t know the origins of their chips,” Raimondo said. He said he was “quite alarmed” by the findings of the investigation.
To prevent harm from China’s alleged anticompetitive conduct, the USTR will investigate any Chinese actions, policies, or practices that may be helping China gain global dominance in the fundamental semiconductor market. We plan to conduct a one-year investigation.
The press release states that the agency will begin by investigating “China’s basic semiconductor manufacturing (also known as legacy or mature node semiconductors),” including “to the extent that they are incorporated as components in downstream products in critical industries such as defense and automotive. ” is stated. , medical equipment, aerospace, telecommunications, power generation and power grids. ”
Additionally, the investigation will examine China’s demand for “silicon carbide substrates (or other wafers used as raw materials for semiconductor manufacturing)” to determine whether China burdens or restricts U.S. commerce. We plan to assess the potential impact of
Some officials were frustrated that Biden did not launch an investigation sooner, the Financial Times reported. Ultimately, it will be up to the Donald Trump administration to complete the investigation, but Biden and Trump have long agreed on U.S.-China trade strategy, and Trump is not necessarily expected to intervene in the investigation. Reuters noted that the investigation could prompt Trump to pursue his campaign promise of imposing 60% tariffs on all goods from China, while the FT reported that Trump is concerned about his own trade negotiations. He also pointed out that the United States may plan to use tariffs as a “bargaining chip.”
