The year 2024 has barely begun when the question of semiconductors returns to the center of economic and geopolitical interests. On Saturday January 13, Taiwan’s voters returned the Democratic Progressive Party, hated by Beijing, to the presidency of the territory, without however offering it a majority in Parliament. The election was closely observed by the international community, as the island, claimed by China, has become a major player in the international economy. It alone produces more than 60% of the world’s semiconductors.
The American elections on November 5 will also be important in this matter, even if between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the favorites in the race for the White House, the subject of semiconductors seems to be the subject of consensus. The policy launched by the Republican, in power from 2017 to 2021, to slow down China’s technological progress was continued by the Democrat, who further strengthened the sanctions, in December 2023, by blocking the export to Beijing of manufacturing machines. Dutch ASML’s most sophisticated component engraving.
Never has the subject of semiconductors appeared so political, as demonstrated by the visit, in December 2023, to the Netherlands of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who came accompanied by the leaders of his national champions chips (Samsung and SK Hynix). This essentially aimed to “significantly strengthen cooperation in the field of semiconductors” between the two countries, in the words of President Yoon, and resulted in an agreement between Samsung and ASML to open a joint research and development center in Seoul, at a cost of 700 million euros.
“We are witnessing a reversal of values. Today, it is the States that want to attract businesses”observes Julien Nocetti, researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).
“Unrealistic” objective
As proof, in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the United States and the European Union (EU) have mobilized significant resources to promote the repatriation of production units to their territory.
The American Chips Act signed in August 2022, and endowed with 52 billion dollars (47.5 billion euros), to subsidize the reinstallation of semiconductor factories in the United States made it possible to conclude an agreement for a project factory of Taiwanese TSMC in Arizona. Its opening, scheduled for 2024, should ultimately be postponed to 2025. Other projects are underway with Intel in particular. The United States hopes to increase its market share in the semiconductor sector from 10% to 30% by 2030.
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