EU-Taiwan Semiconductor Cooperation: Lopsided Priorities?
Johannes Nordin and Larissa Stünkel
Abstract:
The European Union (EU) seeks de facto closer cooperation on chip production with Taiwan. This was underlined during Foreign Minister Joseph Wu’s Europe Tour in 2021 and by a more recent EU Parliament delegation to Taipei amid efforts to push for a bilateral investment agreement. Having announced the Chips Act in February 2022, the EU has since held its first high-level talks with a delegation from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economy. Meanwhile, reports emerged in 2021 that the world’s largest chip manufacturer –TSMC – has been in contact with European officials about setting up local production facilities in the EU. Despite these signs of progress, it appears the EU lacks sufficient understanding of their Taiwanese counterparts’ ambitions and priorities. Besides Brussels underestimating the challenge of setting up foundries and overplaying the need to concentrate on cutting-edge chip manufacturing, the EU’s strategic ambitions are at odds with both the Taiwanese government and the islands’ tech giants. This issue brief critically examines the prospects of EU-Taiwan cooperation on semiconductors and analyzes how Taiwan and the EU can envision a concentrated partnership.
Related Publications
-
Taiwan holds all the chips in US–China tech showdown
Introduction: US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August 2022 touched on the island’s sovereignty — a controversial, historical ‘red line’ in China’s foreign relations. The […]
-
Risk Reduction and Crisis Management on the Korean Peninsula
The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inherently intertwined with the growing instability of the East Asian security environment, where high tensions significantly increase the risk of unintended incidents and armed […]
-
Kinas Stormaktsambitioner, Frihandel och Försörjningskedjor (China’s Great Power Ambitions, Free Trade and Supply Chains).
The chapter explores China’s growing international engagement and changing perceptions, discussing how Beijing’s trade priorities and supply chains affect Europe. It subsequently addresses Beijing’s authoritarian tendencies over the past decade […]
-
European Economic Self-defense in the Face of Authoritarianism
Economic coercion by states has always been present in one form or the other, but the challenges have escalated to an unprecedented level in today’s globalized economy. Most notably, as […]
-
Korea Looks to Europe: Its Growing Military-Strategic Cooperation with NATO
Korea is looking to Europe in the military-strategic dimension. It wants to boost ties with NATO even as strengthening relations with the AP4 (four Asia-Pacific partners) forms an important aspect […]
-
Finland-Taiwan Relations: An Overview and Changes after COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract: Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations between Finland and Taiwan, the two sides have maintained a practical relationship through trade, tourism, and educational and cultural exchanges. The COVID-19 […]