Some time ago, in an article entitled "The geopolitics of chips"1 we talked about the importance of semiconductors and in particular of raw materials and the industrial capacity necessary for their production from a strategic point of view.
For those who follow this sector it is clear that the comparison is almost exclusively between the USA and China, but it affects practically the whole world, from those countries rich in raw materials, such as rare earths, to those who have the engineering ability to design chips, finally to those who are capable of producing the latest generation chips, i.e. those with technology below 5 nanometers.
Before seeing what has happened in recent days, let us recall two other important facts of the war for industrial supremacy underway in the semiconductor sector:
-
on April 6, 2022, the White House earmarked 52 billion dollars of subsidies for local chip makers;
-
China, starting next August 1st, will impose restrictions on the export of some raw materials necessary for the production of semiconductors2, these are Gallium and Germanium and compounds containing these elements.
As you can see, moves and countermoves in one war for supremacy in the semiconductor industry.
Yesterday's news that DoD (US Department of Defense) and DoC (US Department of Commerce) signed a Memorandum3 to increase collaboration and strengthen the American industrial base of the sector. Essentially it is a question of improving the exchange of information between departments in order to favor the "CHIPS" incentive program and improve National security.
Last act of the war between the two superpowers?
So it seems, until the next step…
1The geopolitics of chips - Online Defense, 12 September 2022, Online Defense, by Alessandro RUGOLO.
