The Taiwanese authorities have confirmed that progress has been made in ongoing negotiations with the European Union on cooperation in the development of semiconductors and that could lead to the construction of plants to manufacture chips on EU territory, according to Reuters.
Whether or not an agreement is reached to achieve it, the Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua, has issued a statement stating that the country will continue to be a “trusted partner” for the EU in terms of semiconductors, so that Europe’s supply chain can be stabilized. To negotiate, Wang has met with Sabine Weyand, Director General for Trade at the European Commissionwhose mission is to cooperate with countries outside the EU on issues related to the industry of different sectors.
Advances in these negotiations have occurred at the same time that the European Union is trying to convince Taiwan manufacturers, including TSMC, to set up chip factories in the EU. These steps are part of the measures provided by the European Chip Law, which was presented last February and whose mission is to promote competitiveness and resilience in terms of the design and development of semiconductors, in addition to facilitating the transformation digital and environmental sustainability.
TSMC has already stated some time ago that it is beginning to assess the opening of a new factory in Europe, and they are thinking of Germany to do so. The company, a true chip giant, is responsible for its manufacture for some of the world’s leading technology companies, such as AMD, Apple or Nvidia.
But not everything is perfect in these negotiations, because an attack by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, plans on them. This is the main point that puts some brake on these negotiations. A few months ago, the Prime Minister of Taiwan, Su Tsen-chang, pointed out that there is concern because China is increasing their efforts to infiltrate Taiwan and gain access to their chip technologies. This concern caused Taiwan to propose tougher laws that would prevent China from doing so.
The EU has already convinced Intel to increase its investment in Europe and also to build new facilities there, after reinvigorating its chip-making business area to compete with Taiwan. But also design, an area in which Spain is going to play a prominent role with the opening of a chip design laboratory for HPC in Barcelona.
Now they are going after Taiwan, which in turn is negotiating with the US to ensure the proper functioning of technology supply chains. Given this, as expected, the Chinese Foreign Minister has warned that «US maneuvers in Taiwan will only lead the region to a dangerous state«, but this has not stopped the Taiwanese authorities, looking for partners to improve their semiconductor industry.
