US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security.
Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” and stressed that “China is not our friend.”
The world’s top two economies are locked in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry, in which her department plays a leading role.
Photo:Reuters
In October, Raimondo unveiled a series of restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China, including those used in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), to prevent their use by Beijing for its military.
“I know there are CEOs of chip companies in this audience who were a little cranky with me when I did that, because you’re losing revenue. Such is life, protecting our national security matters more than short-term revenue,” she said.
“Newsflash: Democracy is good for your businesses. Rule of law here and around the world is good for your businesses,” she said.
Raimondo said that Nvidia Corp, maker of the most sophisticated chips needed to develop the latest generation of AI, had developed a product that performs just below the limit set by her department for export to China.
“That’s what industry does,” she said. “That’s not productive.”
“Every day China wakes up trying to figure out how to do an end run around our export controls ... which means every minute of every day, we have to wake up tightening those controls and being more serious about enforcement with our allies,” she said.
Separately, the US government proposed new rules on Friday regarding its electric vehicle (EV) subsidies, setting limits on material that producers can source from China or other rival countries.
The guidelines spell out how EVs could qualify for a tax credit of up to US$7,500 under US President Joe Biden’s landmark climate action plan, the Inflation Reduction Act.
They come as Washington works to reduce its burgeoning electric car industry’s reliance on China. Currently, the key EV industry is dominated by China.
Under the latest proposal released by the US Department of Treasury, an eligible clean vehicle cannot contain battery components made or assembled by a “foreign entity of concern” starting next year.
From 2025, a qualifying vehicle also cannot contain critical minerals extracted, processed or recycled by such entities.
This targets companies owned by, or subject to the jurisdiction of countries like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. They would be barred from providing such materials to vehicles aiming to qualify for tax breaks.
A firm could be considered a foreign entity of concern if it were incorporated in one of these countries, or if it hit a 25 percent ownership threshold.
The latest rules would likely reduce the number of vehicles eligible for tax credits while piling pressure on automakers as they grapple with the transition to producing electric cars.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS