Semiconductor Industry Backs Trump’s China Probe

Article By : Dylan McGrath

SAN FRANCISCO — The semiconductor industry's largest trade group reacted quickly to a memorandum by U.S. President Donald Trump authorizing the investigation of China's trade practices, offering support and saying it has long voiced concern over "market-distorting" aspects of China's industrial policy.

"The U.S. semiconductor industry stands ready to work with the Trump Administration to protect American intellectual property and critical technology from theft or forced transfer in foreign markets," said John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in a press statement released Monday.

Neuffer's statement was issued shortly after Trump announced the memorandum in widely televised event at the the White House. The memorandum directs U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to investigate China's laws, policies practices and actions that may be unreasonable or discriminatory and that may be harming American intellectual property, innovation and technology.
"This is just the beginning," Trump said of the memo.

China's stance on intellectual property rights has long been criticized by the semiconductor industry and other U.S. high-tech industries. Chip makers have complained about being enticed by the Chinese government to establish joint ventures with local companies as a condition for setting up manufacturing in China, which they say ultimately results in intellectual property theft.

“虽然中国是全球半导体价值链的重要组成部分，但SIA长期以来一直在担心其国家领导的工业政策（例如强迫技术转移实践）的市场范围内，这使美国公司不利，并损害了他们的IP。在周一的声明中说。“一项平衡，公正，客观和彻底的调查旨在确保中国履行其全球贸易义务，并且市场力量确定竞争成果将有助于解决这些市场访问问题。”

A White House statement issued Monday said China has implemented laws and taken actions that encourage the transfer of American technology and intellectual property to Chinese firms. For example, the statement said, "U.S. companies can be required to enter into joint ventures with Chinese companies if they want to do business in China, resulting in Chinese companies forcibly acquiring U.S. intellectual property."

China's increasing presence on the global semiconductor stage and the Chinese central government's plan to invest $161 billion over 10 years to strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry have been an increasing source of tension between the U.S. and China since before Trump ascended to the presidency. The U.S. government has increasingly shown willingness to fight or block acquisition of U.S. chip firms by Chinese entities. Prior to leaving office in January, former president Barack Obama released a strongly worded report on the threat posed to the U.S. semiconductor industry by China's aggressive ambition to become a global player in the chip space.
国家亚洲研究局最初于2013年发布的有关知识产权盗窃的报告得出结论，中国政府政策导致盗窃美国知识产权。该报告的最新更新估计，IP盗窃案对美国经济的年成本可能高达6000亿美元，并且中国负责估计有50％至80％的IP盗窃，这对美国经济造成了损害。

Neuffer说：“知识产权是半导体行业的命脉。”"Semiconductors are America’s fourth-largest export and underpin the entire economy. U.S. semiconductor companies invest nearly one-fifth of their revenue in research and development to stay at the forefront of innovation, and they should be able to compete in foreign markets without putting their critical IP at risk."

白宫还发表了另一份声明，其中包含来自18名工业，国防和外交政策代表的备忘录的赞美，其中包括一般动力，洛克希德·马丁，雷·雷·雷·格鲁姆和诺斯罗普·格鲁姆曼等国防承包商的现任首席执行官。
"China’s assault on American intellectual property threatens our military edge and economic competitiveness," said J. Randy Forbes, a former U.S. congressman and founder of the Congressional China Caucus. "It is a serious threat to our national security and can only be countered by bold, aggressive action in support of our national interests. I commend President Trump for his leadership on this issue."