US officials want to limit the global chip supply chain, who will be the next Huawei

Recently, according to reliable sources, senior U.S. government cabinet officials agreed to take new measures to restrict Huawei’s global chip supply chain, which may include some key industrial chain manufacturers. If the suppression plan of some US politicians is realized, it means that new jurisdictional rights can be exercised arbitrarily against the existing production facilities of all semiconductor manufacturers in the world, thereby interrupting the chip supply chain of any company. “

It is reported that the ban is mainly achieved by restricting the use of foreign suppliers of American technology and parts, and TSMC is likely to be among them.

U.S. President Donald Trump has not made a statement, and the report mentioned that he appeared to oppose the implementation of the plan last month. Xiang Ligang, chairman of the Information Consumption Alliance, told the Global Times reporter on the 31st that if the United States really restricts Huawei’s chip supply chain, many American companies will suffer huge losses. At the same time, I believe that China’s precise countermeasures also have a lot of.

Reuters reported that under the proposed rule changes, foreign companies using U.S. chip-making equipment would need to obtain U.S. licenses to supply certain chips to Huawei. A source said that the purpose of the rule adjustment is to limit TSMC’s chip sales to Huawei. TSMC is one of the main chip makers of Huawei HiSilicon and the world’s largest chip foundry.

“This is something that some American politicians have been doing, and it is not something that suddenly comes to mind today.” Xiang Ligang believes that first of all, it is necessary to realize that the power of American politicians and the power of government administration are two different things. If the US government really intervenes, then China will also There will definitely be counterattacks. He also reminded that such a suppression plan will first suffer from American high-tech companies such as Qualcomm.

According to public data, Qualcomm’s 2019 fiscal year revenue was US$24.3 billion. In addition to Huawei’s self-developed 5G mobile phone solutions, Samsung, MediaTek, and Ziguang Zhanrui have all launched 5G mobile phone chip solutions. An industry insider who did not want to be named told the Global Times that if Chinese mobile phone manufacturers do not adopt Qualcomm’s solution, Qualcomm will lose at least 40% of the global market share. Reuters quoted trade lawyer Doug Jacobson as saying: “The negative impact of this rule change on US companies will be far greater than that of Huawei, because Huawei will develop its own supply chain. Ultimately, Huawei will find a replacement.”

A research report titled “How Restricting Trade with China Could End U.S. Semiconductor Leadership” (How Restricting Trade with China Could End U.S. Semiconductor Leadership) released by Boston Consulting Group on March 9 also holds similar View. In the three quarters after the U.S. restricted sales of certain technology products to Huawei in May 2019, top U.S. semiconductor companies’ revenue fell between 4% and 9%, the report said. Many of these companies cited the trade conflict with China as a significant factor in their declining performance. The report believes that restricting trade with China in the semiconductor field or even directly “decoupling” will permanently damage the U.S. semiconductor industry, and ultimately cause it to lose its global competitive advantage and leading position, with a significant negative impact on the United States. Anonymous industry insiders said that what many global supply chain businesses worry about is that the U.S. government arbitrarily revises policies and expands its jurisdiction without restraint. Once the Pandora’s box is opened, it may be a devastating chain of damage to the globalized industrial ecology, and the possibility of destruction. It will not only be Huawei, but also the global industrial chain cooperation.

“Huawei has endured ‘a lot of punches’ from the United States before, and it has not been defeated, and of course it will not this time.” Xiang Ligang said that Huawei has already prepared many countermeasures, “but the US company is really dead without customers.” He I believe that once the time comes to have to fight back, China will be “famous for its teachers” and passively counter “technical hegemony”. At the same time, it will uphold “precise strikes” and will not hurt innocent people. “We hope to speak according to the rules and act according to the law, rather than relying on a lot of administrative measures to suppress it. Anyone with a little sense of justice can see that the United States has always taken the initiative to attack, and China has always been defensive, but don’t think that defense is powerless. “

Industry insiders, who asked not to be named, said the rule change effectively undermines the rules of global commerce and trade, attaching additional legal rights to the U.S. government on products already sold, and is a huge expansion of power and “bullying.” It may further expand to other industry sectors after it takes effect. The victimized companies are not limited to Chinese companies, including all non-US semiconductor manufacturing companies that use US equipment, such as TSMC, Samsung, Hynix, STMicroelectronics, etc. “By then, many international companies will be worried about one question, who will be next. Huawei?”

Notably, last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that (the US) was considering a global ban on chip sales to Huawei. After the report, Trump expressed strong opposition to the proposal for the move, saying: “I want to allow our companies to do business. I mean, the proposals that are on my table have nothing to do with national security, including those involving chips. Manufacturers and others. So if we don’t provide[these chips]what will happen? They will make these chips in other countries, or in China or elsewhere.” Xiang Ligang believes that this also proves that Attempts to restrict Huawei’s chip supply chain are “harmful to others” to the United States.

For Trump, the main goal is to keep the U.S. economy growing so that it can be re-elected. If it is only aimed at hitting China and harming the U.S. economy at the same time, it is not ruled out that Trump’s opponents want to see it.

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