US Department of Commerce Holds Semiconductor Meeting a Day Before Korea-US Summit... Samsung Attends

Commerce Secretary Raimondo to Meet Industry Minister Moon Seung-wook on 21st... Likely to Pressure US Investment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Hee-jong] On the 20th (local time), one day before the South Korea-U.S. summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden, the U.S. Department of Commerce held a meeting to discuss the semiconductor shortage issue. South Korea's Samsung Electronics also attended this meeting.

According to foreign media reports, on this day, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo chaired a meeting with senior officials from the U.S. automotive industry and other industry representatives regarding the semiconductor chip shortage. The meeting was divided into two sessions, seemingly to accommodate the participants' schedules.

Bloomberg reported that companies such as Apple, Google, Samsung Electronics, Taiwan's TSMC, Cisco Systems, AT&T, Qualcomm, General Electric (GE), and U.S. automakers General Motors (GM) and Ford attended the meeting.

Secretary Raimondo told reporters about the semiconductor chip shortage, "There is currently a lack of transparency in the supply chain," and added, "We are looking for the role the government can and should play in enhancing information sharing." Bloomberg reported that the attendees discussed the impact of the semiconductor shortage on current industries, ways to improve transparency in the semiconductor supply chain, and issues related to research and development funding to prevent semiconductor shortages.

John Bozella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), a U.S. automotive manufacturers' group, stated in a press release that day, "We welcome Secretary Raimondo's continued efforts to address the microchip shortage."

The meeting was held one day before the South Korea-U.S. summit between President Moon and President Biden. Accordingly, there were observations that this could be seen as pressure on Samsung to invest.

In fact, according to Bloomberg, Secretary Raimondo is expected to hold talks with Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, on the 21st. Representatives from Korean semiconductor companies are expected to attend this meeting.

Samsung Electronics is anticipated to announce a semiconductor foundry investment worth 20 trillion won (17 billion dollars) around the time of the South Korea-U.S. summit. Currently, Austin, Texas, is considered the most likely candidate site.

The semiconductor chip meeting chaired by Secretary Raimondo on this day was held about a month after a similar meeting hosted by the White House on the 12th of last month. At that time, a video conference chaired by Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, was held with Samsung Electronics, TSMC, Intel, Ford, and others attending, with President Biden also participating. Among domestic companies, Samsung Electronics was the only participant.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.