The U.S. is taking action against China's semiconductor industry, and this time it's a bit strange, with the Chinese side being warned 18 months in advance of tax increases!
Last night, Reuters reported: "The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that tariffs on Chinese semiconductor products will be imposed starting in June 2027, with specific tax rates to be announced one month in advance. This tariff increase stems from a one-year investigation initiated by Biden, focusing on the 301 investigation targeting China's 28nm and above mature process chip industry. The U.S. claims that China will account for nearly half of the global new mature node capacity, leading to supply chain dependence. China strongly opposes this, pointing out that the 301 system is a product of unilateralism. The U.S. has provided massive subsidies to its own industries through the Chips and Science Act, and U.S. companies already hold nearly half of the global market share, yet they accuse China's practices, which is clearly contradictory!"
[Clever] The U.S.'s campaign to suppress is no more original than the tactics used in the 1930s under the 301 clause against Japanese semiconductors. It's just a recycled form of unilateral hegemony, with the U.S. simultaneously investing $52.7 billion in the Chips and Science Act to subsidize domestic industries while watching U.S. companies occupy nearly half of the global chip market. Yet they come out accusing China of non-market practices, a double standard as absurd as the trade protectionist farce during the 1929 Great Depression! Using the excuse of accounting for nearly half of the global new mature node capacity to impose tariffs, they are unaware that their subsidy rules have already become a laughingstock—requiring companies not to expand their Chinese capacity within 10 years, adding a pile of捆绑 conditions like unions and construction materials, making the subsidies feel like shackles. From restricting advanced processes to eyeing the 28nm mature process, the U.S. increasingly exposes its anxiety: the speed at which China's chip industry has moved from catching up to running alongside is impossible to block with tariff barriers. Such self-defeating actions ultimately end up with the U.S. picking up the stone of the semiconductor industry and breaking its own supply chain feet!
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852317165698060/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.