China’s chip export restrictions are expected to cause Japan’s sales of chip equipment to drop by half, and Japanese companies involved will have to significantly reduce their output.
The Japanese government has chosen to impose semiconductor export controls on China in order to stop the products from being used for military purposes according to Japanese media. This decision is made in accordance with the United States’ policy of “China containment.”
To prevent China from using Japan’s chip manufacturing equipment to produce chips, the Japanese government will amend the pertinent provisions of the foreign exchange and foreign trade laws. According to the regulations, the minister of economy, trade, and industry must give his or her consent before certain goods and technologies can be exported.
The regulations of semiconductor export controls On China will be updated and published soon. As a result, Japan might implement the chip export restrictions as early as this spring. The US asked Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit after it banned the export of machinery used to make chips to China in October.
Japan and the Netherlands agreed to cooperate with the Joe Biden administration’s controls on China’s semiconductor exports during talks between high-level officials on January 27 in Washington. According to Kyodo News, the plan is to put the January consensus into action, but China was left out to prevent retaliation.
Seoul has not yet joined the “chip alliance,” despite the US reportedly trying to convince Seoul to do so. Japan and the Netherlands may adopt different policies in light of the fact that the export ban will have an impact on their own businesses operating in the Chinese market, and some Japanese businesses with significant market share in China will be required to reevaluate their international business plans.
China will purchase 30% of Japan’s total sales of chip manufacturing equipment in 2021, according to data from the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan.
China’s chip export restrictions are expected to cause Japan’s sales of chip equipment there to drop by half, and the Japanese companies involved will have to significantly reduce their output.
The US has abused export controls by pressuring some nations to form a China-containment clique by politicizing science, technology, economics, and trade issues in order to protect its hegemony and self-serving interests.
The action will not only disrupt global supply chains but also hinder innovation and industrial productivity. Everyone should be aware that any attempt to obstruct another person will ultimately obstruct one’s own path. China is prepared to use any means necessary to protect its legal interests.