The strict conditions under which the US government is offering subsidies for building chip manufacturing plants in America might not be worth it for Samsung.
Samsung is building a A$26 billion plant in Texas, but South Korean officials have been spooked by the heavy conditions placed on accepting any of A$80 billion in subsidies the Biden administration is offering.
Samsung will be forced to pause expansion of semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in China for 10 years, meaning they cannot develop their plant in China’s Shaanxi province.
They will also have high employment targets, will have to build using American-made construction materials, share “excess profits” with the US government, and –most worrying — be required to collaborate with other companies on next-generation semiconductor technologies.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said of the conditions, “We will continue to enforce restrictions, in coordination with our allies, that protect us and them from the misuse of these technologies by malign actors.
“I want the United States to be the only country in the world where every company capable of producing leading-edge chips will have a significant R&D and high-volume manufacturing presence.”
Lee Chang-yang, South Korea’s minister of trade, industry and energy, is concerned about the laws.
“Technology fundamental to business operations could be exposed,” he said.
