Source: Content compiled by Semiconductor Industry Observer (ID: icbank) from CNBC, thank you.
With US President Joe Biden visiting Japan and South Korea, these three countries are looking for common ground on the world stage. One of the places they found it was semiconductor .
BidenThe first stop for the president to travel through Asia for the first time was the Samsung factory in South Korea.
"These small chips that are only a few nanometers thick are the key to pushing us into the next era of human technology," Biden said Friday.
South Korean new president Yoon Seo-yeol said over the weekend that he and Biden "visited a 'global epicenter' of the cutting-edge semiconductor industry. There, I felt the power of our economic and technological alliance."
From cars to household appliances, chips are indispensable, and they will play an important role in the development of artificial intelligence and quantum technology. Leaders of the three countries avoid mentioning China when talking about semiconductors, but export controls are also on the agenda.
" (Biden's trip to Asia) The main issue of interest to investors may be their perception of supply chains and semiconductors, and their consistency in export controls on China-sensitive technologies and investment in the United States," said Michael J. Green, chairman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
On Monday, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raymondo met with Japanese Foreign Minister Akichi Hagida in Tokyo. According to a translation of the statement from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, the two discussed "cooperation in areas such as semiconductors and export controls."
Japan and South Korea are long-term allies of the United States and are both technologically powerful countries. But as of 2020, the export relations between the two countries and China were also greater than those with the United States.
Expert: The United States' "intimidation" of semiconductors is counterproductive
U.S. Commerce Secretary Raymondo (Gina Raimondo) convened major semiconductor manufacturers and European and American car companies in late September last year to hold a semiconductor summit, and at the meeting, semiconductor companies were asked to fill out a questionnaire to explain the sales, products, technology and inventory status in detail, and also threatened, possibly citing the "Defense Production Act" (DPA) during the Cold War period to force them to cooperate. Tim Culpan, a columnist of Bloomberg, wrote an article criticizing on October 14, pointing out that this matter highlights the disconnect between the US government and reality. , Washington, is in need to open communication channels with other countries. At this time, intimidation will backfire and anger Taipei, Seoul and Beijing.
Gao Canming pointed out that the US government hopes to complete the survey by November 8, with 26 questions on the questionnaire, ranging from the ordinary "why the (general) application of the semiconductor products you purchased and the integrated circuit " to the secret "list the top three customers of each product at present, and the estimated percentage of sales of each customer."
Critics said that the US's purpose is only to suppress the growing strength of mainland China. Although Taiwan and South Korea are allies of the United States, they quickly responded that they would protect their leading companies: TSMC and , Samsung Electronics, , so that they will not leak confidential information.
Gao Canming said that some of the reactions were too exaggerated. This questionnaire was actually a standard tool adopted by the US Department of Commerce to understand the situation. It was filled in completely voluntarily. It was not necessary to use the mandatory cooperation of the National Defense Production Act and it is likely not applicable to foreign companies.
Gao Canming analyzed that after the questionnaire summary analysis came to the final report, it is likely that it is the end of the year, and it is probably no longer timely. Semiconductors are one of the fastest-progressing areas in the global economy of . For example, TSMC's inventory often increases or decreases by more than 20% in just a few months, and launches new products with the latest technology every quarter or every two quarters. TSMC also stated at the beginning of the year that alleviating the shortage of automotive chips is the company's "priority" and is transferring production capacity to solve the chip shortage.
The U.S. government can collect information from this investigation, and it is likely to be obtained from industrial groups or some seller research reports. For example, the automotive industry accounts for only 4% of TSMC's sales, and has almost no change in three years, which is public information in every financial report.
Gao Canming said that the data finally compiled by the US Department of Commerce may show that some buyers have been hoarding chips, but this matter has been widely reported, or that some technology nodes require production capacity. This is well known that in the ever-changing world of semiconductor supply and demand, these only have a retrospective effect.
In order to respond instantly, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced last week that it created an early warning system to "assist the cross-departmental supply chain disruption working group to coordinate U.S. government resources and help resolve supply chain bottlenecks caused by the epidemic." However, the Ministry of Commerce requires a notification method: please send an email.
If you want to use manual processes to solve short-term events, it is difficult for the industry to take it seriously. The chip industry processes a large amount of supply chain data to make adjustments in various operational aspects. Most of these data are automated through global systems provided by commercial software operators SAP and Oracle (Oracle).
Gao Canming said that this is the part that the United States should develop and utilize. Mainland China is unlikely to be willing to participate, but in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and , EU , perhaps like-minded partners are willing to cooperate with companies in their region to transmit information to the central database, but the premise is that everyone has equal access to information.
Gao Canming finally pointed out that one of Washington's biggest mistakes during the chip shortage was that it acted as if the United States was the only victim, and that the needs of the United States exceeded the needs of anyone else. If you really want to solve this problem and prevent it, what Washington should do is to go back and create a connection and show the world that it is ready to create a global solution.
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