US, EU join hands on semiconductor supply

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The EU and US will announce an “early warning system” for semiconductors supply disruptions, hoping to avoid excessive competition between Western powers for the vital tech component….reports Asian Lite News

Washington and Brussels have agreed to a plan aimed at identifying semiconductor supply disruptions as well as countering Russian disinformation, media reported.

According to reports, top US officials are visiting the French scientific hub of Saclay for a meet up of the Trade and Technology Council, created last year as China increasingly exerts its technology clout.

The EU and US will announce an “early warning system” for semiconductors supply disruptions, hoping to avoid excessive competition between Western powers for the vital tech component.

The industry has suffered from a shortage of components for chipmaking, blamed on a boom in global demand for electronic products and pandemic snarled supply chains.

“We hope to agree on high levels of subsidies — that they will not be more than what is necessary and proportionate and appropriate,” reports quoted Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, as saying.

In 2021, the US had already put in place its own early warning system that looked at supply chains in Southeast Asia and “has been very helpful in helping us get ahead of a couple of potential shutdowns earlier this year,” the official was quoted as saying.

The EU and US will also announce joint measures on fighting disinformation and hacking, especially from Russia, including a guide on cybersecurity best practices for small- and medium-sized companies and a task force on trusted technology suppliers, the official said, it was reported.

Meanwhile, ahead of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council ministerial meeting (TTC), US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Sunday met with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris-Saclay, France where both the leaders highlighted the need to ‘confront’ global food insecurity stemming from the war in Ukraine.

They also discussed efforts for mutual return to full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.

“The two discussed issues of importance in the bilateral relationship, especially the urgent need to confront global food insecurity exacerbated by Russia’s unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” a US State Department press release said.

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