
South Korean Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) decided to delay the start of production at its factories in the United States until 2025, which “dealt another blow to the ambitions” of President Joe Biden’s administration to expand the domestic semiconductor market, writes Bloomberg.
Mass production at Samsung's $17 billion plant in Taylor, Texas, was expected to begin in the second quarter of this year but was ultimately delayed until 2025. TSMC also pushed back the start of production at its Arizona semiconductor plant due to a shortage of experienced construction and equipment installation technicians. The company planned to invest up to $40 billion in the construction of the plant.
As Bloomberg notes, any delay at the American sites, which are operated by the world's two leading chipmakers, is a setback to Biden's "grand plan" to increase semiconductor production in the United States. Changes in TSMC and Samsung's plans likely mean their new factories may not come online until after the US presidential election.
Following the global semiconductor shortage that began in 2021 due to the covid-19 epidemic , Biden signed a bill providing $52.7 billion in subsidies for US semiconductor manufacturing. In particular, they will be provided to the American companies Micron, Intel, Lockheed Martin, HP and Advanced Micro Devices.
In addition, the Biden administration last fall imposed restrictions on the supply of semiconductors and chip manufacturing equipment to CHINA . EXPORT of products made using American technologies for the production of calculations using artificial intelligence is possible only under a special license issued by the US authorities. Cooperation between US citizens and Chinese chip manufacturers is limited under the same conditions. The supply of equipment and technologies to China that it could use to create its chips was also limited.
China criticizes US sanctions policies, calling them "economic coercion and unilateral intimidation." “The United States must immediately correct its erroneous practices and stop unjustified pressure on Chinese companies,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.
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Buy at a discountAt the same time, China itself imposes restrictions in this area. Over the summer, Beijing introduced export controls on gallium and germanium, needed for semiconductor production. Prior to this, China also banned critical infrastructure operators from purchasing products from the American chip manufacturer Micron Technology, citing “national security problems with the company’s products.”