Chip Equipment Becomes Trade War's Latest Battlefield

By Luffy Liu, EETimes (May 27, 2020)

The U.S. has issued a new set of trade rules that hamper American-made semiconductor equipment sales to China. As a result, telecom and networking giant Huawei Technologies reportedly is trying to persuade Samsung and TSMC to build an advanced production line that does not use U.S. equipment.

Under the latest trade regulation, fabless semiconductor companies are worried they will be the next target of sanctions by the United States.

TSMC should strongly support non-U.S. semiconductor material and equipment suppliers, according to industry analyst Lu Xingzhi. However, TSMC – which announced it would build a fab in the U.S. – seems hesitant to act on Huawei’s request.

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