The US and its Asian allies are serious about the semiconductor alliance

Biden’s first stop on his trip to Asia was a Samsung Electronics Co semiconductor complex in South Korea. “I just got to see how this factory makes the most advanced semiconductor chips in the world,” Biden said after a tour of the facility, his first stop after landing outside Seoul. to begin a five-day visit to Korea and Japan. “These tiny chips, just a few nanometers thick, are key to propelling us into humanity’s next era of technological development,” Biden said on May 20.

“Our two nations work together to create the best and most innovative technologies in the world, and this factory is proof of that,” Biden said in his remarks after the tour. It also notes that Samsung will invest $17 billion to build a similar facility in Texas. “That gives both (Korea) and the United States a competitive edge in the global economy, if we can keep our supply chains flexible, reliable, and secure.”

Biden’s trip to the Samsung facility underscores his interest in strengthening the semiconductor alliance between the world’s biggest chip-producing nations, to try to ease the shortages that have dragged down the economy global economy declines. The complex in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, houses some of the largest chip production lines in the world and produces a wide range of products from memory chips to logic chips for Qualcomm Inc. and other companies.

Samsung is responsible for a third of global memory chip production and controls just under 20% of the chips it processes for technology customers. Korea’s largest company has been expanding its facilities in the country and in the US to meet the rising demand.

On the other hand, the economic shocks from Russia’s war in Ukraine highlight the need to secure critical supply chains so that the US economy and national security are not dependent on foreign trade wars. the country “does not share our values,” Biden said in remarks at the factory.

Even President Joe Biden called the US-South Korea alliance “the foundation of peace, stability and prosperity” during a visit to the Samsung Electronics Co semiconductor complex, as he sought to boost the supply chain. reduce dependence on China.

During Biden’s trip to Asia for the first time as president, he met with regional leaders to bolster support for Ukraine against Russian aggression and threats. security caused by China and North Korea, the two countries could conduct their first nuclear test since 2017.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office May 10, joined Biden at the event and said that, “based on advanced technology and supply chain cooperation I will seek to upgrade relations.” US-Korea into an economic-security alliance.

Yoon Suk-yeol said over the weekend that he and Biden “visited what can be described as the ‘global epicenter’ of the advanced semiconductor industry. “There, I was able to feel it. the strength of our economic and technological alliance.” Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol further noted that the chip partnership between the US and South Korea that began in 1974 is as deep as the security alliance between them. .

In fact, chips are indispensable in everything from cars to home appliances, and they will play an essential role in the development of artificial intelligence and quantum technology. The leaders of the three countries avoided mentioning China When it comes to semiconductors, export controls are also on the agenda.

Meanwhile, more than 75% of global chip production comes from Asia. U.S. government officials have estimated that chip production won’t reach their desired levels until early 2023. The threat of China’s aggression against Taiwan could cut off the high-end computer chips needed by the military. as well as American consumer goods.

Similarly, North Korea has quietly test-fired a ballistic missile amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, a possible risk to South Korea’s manufacturing sector if the situation escalates. It’s a possible loophole that the United States hopes to guard against, through more domestic production and government investment in the sector through a bill being negotiated in Congress. America.

“The main concern for investors present at the event (Biden’s trip to Asia) is likely to be what they have to say about supply chains and semiconductors, and how relevant they are to regulatory oversight. controls exports of sensitive technologies to China and invests in the United States,” chaired Michael J. Green, senior vice president for Asia and Japan technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Then yesterday, May 23, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo had a meeting with her Japanese counterpart, Koichi Hagiuda, in Tokyo. The two discussed “cooperation in areas such as semiconductors and export control,” according to a CNBC translation of a statement from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.