Semicon Briefing

A bipartisan U.S. bill (MATCH Act) would for the first time nearly completely block DUV lithography and etching equipment for Huawei, SMIC, and other Chinese companies—not just EUV. ASML stock fell 1.64% as a result, as China revenues are now seriously at risk; a Trump visit to China in mid-May could delay implementation.

Through the TeraFab project, Tesla and SpaceX will manufacture on Intel facilities in the U.S. in the future—a direct signal against TSMC's Taiwan fabs and a strategic paradigm shift for U.S. manufacturing independence. Intel stock rose 20% within a week; analysts discuss whether the company can become a full-scale foundry.

TSMC reports a 35% revenue increase, driven by exploding AI chip demand and the ramp-up of 2nm production; SoIC capacity is set to expand to 10,000–15,000 wafers/month by 2026. This intensifies regulatory pressure on the U.S. and Europe to create their own manufacturing capacity.

A viral TikTok post (9,660 views, 663 likes) shows that the largest driver of U.S. GDP growth—AI data center investments of $3 trillion over five years—is substantially dependent on Chinese electronic components, whose prices have doubled over four years. This underscores the systemic vulnerability of U.S. AI infrastructure despite export controls.

Analysts and industry associations call for a paradigm shift in the EU Chips Act 2.0: instead of subsidizing individual fabs, a competitive ecosystem should be created—the 20% production target by 2030 is now considered unrealistic. The EU approach risks falling behind U.S. and Asian investment volumes, permanently sharpening Europe's strategic dependence.

China controls over 90% of global capacity for critical minerals and actively restricts exports of rare earth alloys—with direct impacts on F-35 production, EV manufacturing, and semiconductor supply chains. The EU and U.S. are negotiating a Critical Minerals Agreement in parallel to break Chinese dominance in this strategic supply chain.