Exports from South Korea are set to continue a trend of double-digit growth in November, with early data showing 27.6% year-over-year export growth during the first 20 days of the month, data from Korea's Customs Service showed, according to an unofficial translation. The growth numbers were led by expansion of semiconductor chip and marine goods exports, which grew at 32.5% and 252.2%, respectively. Imports also surged year over year to 41.9%, led by a hike in the costs of crude oil, gas and related goods. The same period for October saw 36.4% year-over-year export growth, indicating a continued high-growth trend for November. Exports to China were up 24.2% and to the U.S., 8.9%.
Chip export news
Japan's export growth in October hit its lowest mark in eight months, notching only a 9.4% year-over-year expansion, according to Ministry of Finance data. Economists had expected a 10.3% gain, Bloomberg reported Nov. 16. The lowered gains come as car shipments continue to slump and global supply constraints still weigh on the nation's economy. Steel and semiconductor manufacturing equipment saw healthy gains, but car exports dipped by more than a third. The data was released just a few days before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to release a package of measures to boost Japan's economy, including shoring up Japan's chip supply, Bloomberg said.
Qualcomm supports “targeted and rule-based export controls” as one of several long-term federal policy recommendations for curing the semiconductor shortage, the chipmaker told the Bureau of Industry and Security in comments posted Nov. 10. Washington should “control emerging technologies,” consistent with the 2018 Export Control Reform Act, by imposing targeted and rule-based export controls and avoid disrupting semiconductor supply, especially in legacy node chipsets,” Qualcomm said. “Unilateral controls would only hinder Qualcomm and other U.S. companies from selling in foreign markets, undermining their R&D investments and disadvantaging them against their foreign competitors.” Some international rivals already have “both the technology capability and funding to develop global leadership in these areas,” it said. Submissions to BIS were due Nov. 8 for the agency's September request for information as it prepares a report to the White House on the chip shortage and semiconductor supply chain issues (see 2109230018).
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The U.S. should continue to impose export controls on advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment and machinery but be careful about restricting sales of finished semiconductor products to China, Chinese economics and technology policy experts said. Controls on finished products may risk hurting U.S. semiconductor exporters and would not stop China from importing those goods elsewhere, they said.
Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., opened up a discussion on a recent report on targeted decoupling based on risk, with a focus on artificial intelligence, at a virtual event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Oct. 22. Hill said the discussion was "long overdue," and that China's direction is "squarely in conflict with the global order, balance of power in East Asia, and the continued open, market-based trading system."
Japan's September exports plunged due to supply chain pressures, with the growth of overseas shipments dropping 3.9% from August, the Ministry of Finance said. Japan saw its starkest drop in auto exports, essentially wiping out the gains seen from shipments of steel and chip components. Exports rose 13% from September 2020, the report said.
U.S. intervention in the transaction between South Korea’s Magnachip Semiconductor Corp. and Beijing’s Wise Road Capital could set a new precedent for investment reviews and lead to more extraterritorial screening by U.S. trading partners in Europe and elsewhere, lawyers said.
While too early to declare a success, the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council has set both sides on a path toward tangible progress on more export controls and investment screening collaboration, experts said. During the inaugural TTC meeting last week, the U.S. and EU agreed to develop “convergent” export controls and share more information to catch malign foreign investments (see 2109290083), which could result in meaningful changes within the next year, the experts said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security fined a Texas semiconductor component manufacturer nearly $500,000 for illegally exporting controlled wafers to Russia via Bulgaria (see 2012210013), the agency said in a Sept. 28 order. The company, Silicon Space Technology Corporation, which began doing business as Vorago Technologies in 2015, worked with a Russian engineering firm to export “rad-hard 16MB Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) wafers,” which were controlled under the Export Administration Regulations for spacecraft and related components.