Yellen urges Asia to tap CHIPS Act funds for semiconductors

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U.S. Treasury Secretary also says Amkor plans mega chip plant in Vietnam

U.S. semiconductor subsidies aren't just for domestic factories: Washington will pay foreign friends to invest in chips, something Asia should exploit, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Vietnam. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
LIEN HOANG, Nikkei staff writerJuly 21, 2023 15:47 JST


HANOI -- Asian countries should invest in semiconductor chips with the help of a half-billion dollar fund from the U.S., Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Vietnam on Friday.

She acknowledged the U.S. can't monopolize the industry, despite passing the CHIPS and Science Act last year to pay companies to build semiconductor factories there. Billions are allocated for manufacturing in the U.S., but Yellen noted the program includes $500 million for similar investments internationally.


"This fund can help countries in the Indo-Pacific develop their own diverse and resilient semiconductor supply chain," she said in a speech in Hanoi, adding that this benefits the U.S. economy. "No country can or should do this alone."


By way of example, the secretary said in Vietnam, less than an hour's drive from where she stood, Amkor Technology was poised to open a "state-of-the-art mega factory for semiconductor assembly and testing."

Vietnam hosts Intel's biggest global chip test and assembly site, part of growing bilateral trade ties that Yellen said were only possible after the two countries dealt with the Vietnam War, which the U.S. lost in the 1970s. She delivered her speech at the Metropole hotel, built by the colonial French and home to a bomb shelter once visited by U.S. anti-war celebrities Jane Fonda and Joan Baez.

Vietnam continues to repatriate U.S. soldiers' remains -- as recently as June 27 -- and Washington pays to clean up bombs and chemicals, both of which still afflict Vietnamese today.

"I believe this strong economic relationship is possible because it's founded on mutual trust," Yellen said. "It stems from our work to address the legacies of the war."

Commerce between the two former enemies has boomed, especially since the start of the China-U.S. trade war. Vietnam has been the top beneficiary of that imbroglio, the Brookings Institution said in an analysis this year. It calculated that business diverted to the Southeast Asian country helped its exports to the U.S. more than double between 2018 and 2021, reaching $100 billion.

That was driven by goods like furniture and cell phones, the think tank said. Vietnam's biggest exporter is Samsung Electronics, which has focused on mobile devices but last year began testing production of chip substrates at a northern factory. Near another Samsung Vietnam plant, Amkor of Arizona is slated to expand its advanced chip packaging facilities at a cost of $250 million.

Despite promoting such expansions around the region, Yellen also expressed concern that "virtually all manufacturing of the most sophisticated chips is concentrated in East Asia."

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's biggest contract chipmaker, looks to tap CHIPS Act subsidies to construct a fabrication plant in Arizona, but has been delayed by a lack of qualified workers.

Yellen urges Asia to tap CHIPS Act funds for semiconductors

U.S. Treasury Secretary also says Amkor plans mega chip plant in Vietnam

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