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China has quietly exempted from tariffs some semiconductors made in the United States, in an attempt to protect its leading technology companies from a bitter trade showdown with President Donald Trump.Levies on at least eight classifications of U.S.-made microchips have been dropped to zero, instead of the 125 percent retaliatory tariff rate Beijing has imposed on all other U.S. goods, Caijing, a Chinese financial media outlet, reported Friday.The article was later deleted. But two importers who spoke to The Washington Post confirmed that certain semiconductors are now exempted from tariffs. One company in Shenzhen listed the exemptions on social media...

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a $100 billion investment from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to bolster chip manufacturing over the next four years in the U.S, NBC has learned. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. TSMC, which supplies semiconductors to the likes of Nvidia and Apple for artificial intelligence use, would help support the Trump administration’s efforts to make the U.S. an artificial intelligence hub. Last month, Trump announced a multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure project with Oracle , OpenAI and Softbank. Trump has repeatedly called out and accused Taiwan of stealing the U.S. chip manufacturing business and touted...

On June 24, 2012, the body of Shane Todd, a young US electrical engineer, was found hanging in his Singapore apartment. The Singapore Police say it was suicide, but the Todd family believes he was murdered. -excerpt- ... Shane told his family that he was being asked to compromise US security and he feared for his life. Shane refused to do what he was being asked to do and turned in his sixty day notice at IME. Shane found a good job with a company in Virginia, and bought a ticket to fly back to the US on July 1,...

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) is preparing legislation to expand production of semiconductors only weeks after his family members purchased stock in semiconductor tool manufacturers. Wyden and two other Democrat senators released a statement to announce they were working on legislation to “expand production of critical technologies like semiconductors, batteries and solar components” in the name of “economic recovery.” ‘By building on tools with records of success, we can also boost manufacturing in communities that have been left behind. We are working on new legislation that would expand production of critical technologies like semiconductors, batteries and solar components....

* Chipmakers ASML and TSMC can disable advanced chipmaking machines remotely, Bloomberg reports. * The move addresses growing fears of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a key semiconductor producer. * A China-Taiwan conflict could severely impact the global economy. Two of the world's most important chip companies can flip a "kill switch" remotely on their most advanced chipmaking machines should China invade Taiwan, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Netherlands' ASML — Europe's top tech company by market value — supplies advanced machines to chipmaking companies. They include Taiwan's TSMC, which produces, by some estimates,...

SNIP ASML declined to comment on Wednesday. However, Wennink spoke at an event in The Hague and said he was concerned the business climate in the Netherlands was worsening. "Some of these elements that made us a great company, those elements are under pressure," he said, citing increasing regulation and a plan to scrap a tax break given to highly skilled immigrants. POTENTIAL CURBS ON FOREIGN STUDENTS Around 40% of ASML's 23,000 employees in the Netherlands are not Dutch. Europe's largest tech company sources parts from around the globe but currently assembles its machines in Veldhoven, Netherlands before shipping them...

Deflating security: Biden sells federal helium reserve, threatens us industries… National security on the line as critical element supply diminishes. In a surprising turn of events, the U.S. government has auctioned off the Federal Helium Reserve, a subterranean treasure in Amarillo, Texas, responsible for supplying up to 30% of the nation’s helium needs. This critical element is indispensable in medical technologies, cryogenics, semiconductors, and even rocket propulsion systems.

* India has ambitions to become a major chip hub on the lines of the U.S., Taiwan and South Korea, and has been courting foreign firms to set up operations in the country. * "Within a very short time, India Semiconductor Mission has achieved four big successes. With these units, the semiconductor ecosystem will get established in India," the government of India said in a press statement. * India in June 2023 had approved Micron for setting up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat. India has approved building three semiconductor plants with investments of more than $15 billion as the...

South Korea’s semiconductor industry is witnessing a robust resurgence, with significant surges in both production and shipments. As per the data from the national statistical office, chip production in November saw a 42% increase year-on-year, marking the most substantial rise since the early months of 2017. Additionally, semiconductor shipments experienced an unprecedented 80% increase, the most sizeable since late 2002. This growth trajectory indicates a revival of technological momentum that not only bodes well for South Korea’s economic prospects but also for the broader global technology sector.

Although China cannot flood the global market with chips produced with cutting-edge fabrication technologies, strong subsidies for the semiconductor sector in China make it possible for the country to flood the market with chips made on legacy process technologies, thus undercutting much-needed sales that generate revenue that is vital for R&D at Western firms. This tactic could spur the U.S. government to impose tariffs on products using mature processing nodes, reports Bloomberg. The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security is set to survey over 100 companies in sectors like automotive, aerospace, and defense to figure out how much...

A 71-year-old investor who bought an old Wyoming coal mine sight-unseen for $2million has learned that it may contain $37 billion worth of 'rare earth' minerals. Randall Atkins, the CEO of Ramaco Rescources, bought the Brook Mine in Sheridan 12 years ago - but it wasn't until years later that researchers checked if the ground contained elements that are used for semiconductors, missiles and solar cells. He was shocked to find out that his mine may contain the largest rare-earth deposit in the United States - and the materials may be worth 18,500 times what he paid for the land....

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said China could invade Taiwan without major consequences from the U.S. once he has hypothetically attained the nation’s “semiconductor independence” in 2028. Semiconductor independence: In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Ramaswamy stressed the importance of semiconductors and why the U.S. should take aggressive action until the nation is able to produce its own. Ramaswamy noted that China would hypothetically not take the risk of aggressing towards Taiwan for his term “if we show we’re serious about [semiconductor independence].”

Japan’s new restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductor production equipment went into effect on Sunday. Drawn up at the instigation of the United States and formally announced three months ago, they are couched in broad terms but are aimed primarily at China. At this stage, it is difficult to predict their impact on Japanese equipment makers or Japan-China relations, but a group of Japanese politicians are already questioning the wisdom of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s seeming eagerness to side with the US in a trade war with China. These politicians are followers of Ishibashi Tanzan, a journalist-turned-politician who advocated for...

China is imposing export restrictions on two metals used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, deepening a trade conflict between Beijing and democratic nations over the all-important chips. China's commerce ministry announced the implementation of export controls on gallium and germanium Monday, stating it was done "in order to safeguard national security and interests." The regulations require exporters to secure a license to ship the two metals and related products starting Aug. 1, the ministry said, adding that the end use and end user must be identified in the application. ... The announcement also comes days before U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet...

In January, the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) decided to form a private-sector task force to strengthen collaboration between the two countries in the global semiconductor ecosystem. The move came as the world’s fifth-largest economy was actively seeking strategic alliances around semiconductors while moving to bring chip manufacturing to the country. Fast forward to this week, the US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, who is on a four-day trip to India, resumed discussions with her Indian counterparts on the coordination of investment and policies to spur private investment into India’s chip industry. The...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday said it will require companies winning funds from its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program to share excess profits and explain how they plan to provide affordable childcare. The Commerce Department on Tuesday is releasing its plans to begin accepting applications in late June for a $39 billion manufacturing subsidy program. The law also creates a 25% investment tax credit for building chip plants estimated to be worth $24 billion. Recipients who receive more than $150 million in direct funding "will be required to share with the U.S. government a...

The semiconductor gold rush is all but over, and we've had our fill. Or so the past month of dismal earnings might have you believe. Electronics giant Samsung saw its profits contract 69 percent during the fourth quarter, while revenues slumped 8 percent overall. South Korean memory manufacturer SK Hynix, meanwhile, followed a few days later with an equally bleak report. Both companies told a story of macroeconomic forces that were suppressing consumer spending and driving DRAM and NAND flash inventories to unprecedented levels. Put simply, where there was once a chip shortage there is now a glut. Well, of...

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that operating profit plunged in the fourth quarter of last year, as global economic headwinds snuffed out demand for semiconductors and smartphones -- the company's two key revenue sources. The South Korean tech company said that its operating profit came in at 4.3 trillion won ($3.5 billion) for the three months through December, a decline of 69% from the same period the year before and the worst result since the third quarter of 2014. Revenue stood at 70.5 trillion won for the same period, marking a fall of 8%. The figures were in line...

HARRISBURG – The General Assembly has sent the governor legislation that will create a new program to encourage the development of technology to convert fracked gas into hydrogen through $141.6 million a year in tax credits. The approval of House Bill 1059 came over the objections of environmental groups and some Democrats who said that the plan will keep Pennsylvania invested in fossil fuel production for decades even as much of the world turns toward renewable energy. “State lawmakers have clearly not learned from example after example of broken promises,” said former Secretary of Environmental Protection Patrick McDonnell, now the...

Micron Technology Inc. executives warned about a semiconductor downturn in late June, but now say that a “sharp and sudden” drop in demand exceeded even those expectations, suggesting the current chip glut could get a lot worse. Micron MU, 0.74% reported a worse-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter Thursday, with revenue plunging 23% from last year, but that wasn’t the big miss. Executives guided for $4 billion to $4.5 billion in revenue in the current quarter, more than $1 billion lower than analysts’ expectations, and suggested they could post a loss in the quarter even on an adjusted basis. “As we look...