Forced into Corner
The division of labor of the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China in the global semiconductor industry that has lasted for 30 years is coming to an end as the United States is increasingly internalizing semiconductor supply chains.
The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced that its subsidies for semiconductor companies would be limited to those meeting the three requirements of building at least two advanced and large-scale clusters in the United States by 2030, building multiple advanced packaging and DRAM production facilities in the United States, and advanced semiconductor production capacity expansion. In short, the United States is trying to expand its semiconductor sector by contracting those of others.
In Japan, Rapidus decided to build a plant in Hokkaido and TSMC will build a plant in Kumamoto. The Japanese and Taiwanese companies’ decisions have to do with huge subsidies promised by the Japanese government. In Europe, Intel, TSMC and so on are building facilities based on EU subsidies.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are in a dilemma as they have relied a lot on China in manufacturing products. “The United States is increasingly trying to curb the growth of China’s semiconductor sector and this is likely to adversely affect the two companies’ semiconductor production and business in China,” said an expert, adding, “At the same time, they are facing an increasing U.S. demand for plant construction in the United States.”