The impact of the U.S. chip ban on Japanese semiconductors Why are Japanese companies not hit hard?
Text Jump Technique.
It's no secret that Japanese lithography equipment manufacturers, which initially entered the mainland market, seized the opportunity to compete with ASML. As a result, the old U.S. papermaking ban was preserved without waiting for Japanese lithography machine manufacturers to take serious action. In addition, Japan's semiconductor regulations on the mainland are broader than those of the United States. In this case, many people do not understand what kind of calculation Japanese semiconductors are ultimately playing.
Interestingly, Japan's export data shows that China's ban on semiconductor manufacturing is stricter than that of the United States, a rare circumstance that has prevented many Japanese companies from shipping. In December last year, Japan's exports to China increased by 96%, the first increase in 13 months, mainly driven by exports of chip manufacturing equipment. In other words, it's clearly a tense situation, but there is also a slight increase, as some companies are secretly seizing the mainland market.
From this spectacle, we can't help but ask: Is it true that banning tipping in the United States only harms the interests of American companies?
After all, other companies don't seem to be under much siege because of so many deliveries, and even ASML has accelerated its lithography machine shipments to Chinese manufacturers this year, making significant gains. As for Japanese companies, exports of chip-making equipment are also increasing, and shipments from the two lithography machine manufacturers have also increased significantly over the past year. On the other hand, in the United States, chipmakers such as Nvidia (NVIDIA) have been affected by a series of regulations.
Even some U.S. companies have often faced scrutiny from U.S. authorities in the past when shipping to the mainland market. It is believed that they are trying to use these regulations to the detriment of allied companies. Allied companies are slowly returning to normal, while U.S. companies remain mired in regulation. The situation in the U.S. semiconductor industry is not optimistic.
However, a closer look reveals that the situation is not as simple as it seems. This is because, to a certain extent, American semiconductor companies still have the right to speak in advanced technology, keeping pace with the advanced development direction of enterprises, but this has also been restricted. For example, lithography machine manufacturers in Japan do not provide advanced manufacturing equipment, but rather so-called specialized, mature process equipment. This somewhat deprives them of the ability to move forward, let alone compete with ASML.
South Korean semiconductor companies are not far behind. They have long been in the shadow of South Korean semiconductors due to stagnant development in cutting-edge fields, especially when it comes to upgrading their factories in the mainland. So both competitors are struggling, and in the final analysis, it's still the United States trying to maintain technological control over the development of semiconductors, which it thinks it can master and put pressure on.
Broadly speaking, the increase in Japanese semiconductor shipments, at least in the long run, is not a big deal for the United States, but the development of other semiconductors may not have peaked enough to take away their voice. They may want to go back to chip manufacturing after the fact to hedge their risk. The real goal is to gradually lose its competitive advantage in chip development, not to catch up with other semiconductors.
This is because chip manufacturing is becoming more and more important in this situation, and they can use it to fish in troubled waters. So, in my opinion, it's a question of whether Korean companies will actually be affected. What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to leave a comment!