Despite the persistent shortage of steel nationwide, state-run China Steel Corp (
"We understand the difficulties for certain industries, but to halt the exports may generate trade disputes with other countries," said Chen Yu-sung (
However, in response to questions from lawmakers yesterday in the legislature's Economics and Energy Committee, Chen said the company could cut "exports from 30 percent to 24 percent" of output.
The cost of raw materials for making steel have risen sharply since the second half of last year as the global economy recovered, forcing steelmakers to raise prices.
Strong demand from China has particularly put pressure on prices of steel products, which have surged by between 33 percent and 40 percent from a year ago, according to statistics from the Taiwan Steel and Iron Industries Association (
Industries that use steel, such as the construction, ship building and auto sectors, said they could not afford the higher prices, causing many projects to be halted. A coalition of steel-using industries plans to hold a protest next Monday calling on the government to suspend steel exports like the South Korea government does.
South Korea decided last week to impose export restrictions on scrap iron and steel bars to ease the effect of price hikes.
The problem is also affecting US steel industries, which may soon ask the Bush administration to limit scrap steel exports, Reuters reported yesterday, citing Robert Stevens, president of the Emergency Steel Scrap Coalition.
"According to law, the US government may prohibit or curtail the export of scrap, if conditions warrant. It is clear all the criteria are met in this case," Stevens said in a statement.
Daniel Liu (劉大年), deputy director of the Chunghua Institution for Economic Research's (中經院) WTO Center, said the suspension of steel exports could prompt retaliation from other WTO members.
"Besides, this measure will only resolve the problem in the short term. I think we should respect the market mechanism on this issue in the long run," Liu said, suggesting that the government could provide low-interest loans for the companies suffering from higher steel prices.
Wu Sheng-feng (
As the prices of raw materials such as steel scrap have risen 220 percent over the past two years, companies should adjust their production according to the new costs, Wu said.
Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (
Legislators also criticized the ministry for failing to stabilize the prices of other construction materials, mainly sand and gravel.
The shortage of sand and gravel since the end of last year has driven up prices, halting building construction projects.
Lin responded that the ministry had lifted the ban on gravel imports from China and had reopened several rivers for quarrying.
By the end of February, Lin said, there were 5.08 million cubic meters of sand and gravel available, meeting the demand of 5 million cubic meters.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS