Industrial Europe is having trouble dealing with China, but also with the American steamroller. And it is not certain that the regulation on microprocessors drawn up in 2022 – the subject of an agreement concluded on Tuesday April 18 between the Twenty-Seven and the Parliament – will arrive in time to tear the European Union (EU) from the vice of the United States and China. Objective of this plan: to reach 20% of the world market, ie a doubling in a few years, thanks to 46 billion euros of European funds, private capital and a relaxation of the rules on State aid.
The ambition is strong for a global market which could reach 1,300 billion dollars (1,190 billion euros) by the end of the decade. “By mastering the most advanced semiconductors, the European Union will become an industrial power on the markets of the future”welcomed the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, who sees it as a tool for “rebalancing and securing our supply chains”. But the schedule is tight. The EU will have to mobilize capital for research and development on the latest generation chips and very quickly launch production sites, such as those of the American Intel in Germany or the Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics in Crolles (Isère).
Because on the other side of the Atlantic, the Biden administration has doubled down on the clean tech (“clean technologies”) with two major texts voted in August 2022: the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides 369 billion dollars in tax credits, loans and guarantees to manufacturers of batteries, solar panels or electrical networks intelligent, and the Chips and Science Act, where an envelope of 54 billion is registered for electronic chips, essential components for the automobile, renewable energies, artificial intelligence or the defense industry.
A vigorous “America first” campaign
More diplomatic than his predecessor Donald Trump but just as resolute, Joe Biden is leading a vigorous campaign “America First” (“America first”) and can use the slogan “Make America great again” (“make America great again”). His policy is beginning to bear fruit. In eight months, the United States has drained 204 billion dollars (186 billion euros) towards semiconductors and low-carbon technologies, according to a count of the FinancialTimes. They want to create jobs at all costs, revitalize abandoned territories and reduce their dependence on the Middle Kingdom for strategic products.
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