Lawmakers confer with government representatives in D.C.
Taiwanese Lawmakers Vent About Chip Worries in DC Dance 🎶
In the heart of Washington, a squad of Taiwanese legislators rocked up to chat with US officials, covering topics ranging from Silicon Valley, politics, and tech. 🗽 💼
Led by Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the delegation stirred things up with the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security and Ingrid Larson, AIT's managing director.
The main dish on the menu? High-end chips made in Taiwan, baby! The bureau voiced concerns over "origin washing" of Chinese products, where they sneakily incorporate Taiwan's premium chips, only to sell them under a false country of origin trying to dodge tariffs or restrictions. 🇹🇼 🛍️
Enter stage left: law enforcement collaboration! The Taiwanese crew suggested teaming up to fight this underhanded trickery, complaining that Taiwan's exclusion from Interpol leaves them at a disadvantage when trying to track these slippery customers.
"Sure, we wanna keep our chips outta China's greasy paws," Wang Ting-yu fired up, "After all, we don't want our chips falling into the hands of some third party gunning for our country." 🎯 💣
Flashback to a recent Reuters report claiming a possible breach of US export controls by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), when one of their chips ended up in a smart AI processor cooked up by the big, bad wolf, Huawei Technologies Co. A hefty fine of around a billion smackers could come TSMC's way, according to the report. 💰
The delegation also caught up with former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who vowed continued US support for Taiwan's security, economy, and democracy. "Taiwan, we got your six no matter what Beijing throws at ya!" Pelosi tweeted.
Meanwhile, Mike Waltz's tenure as US national security adviser came to an end, with the president nominating him as the ambassador to the UN. Taipei shrugged it off, saying US-Taiwan relations would stay strong, despite leadership changes. "After all, the US Congress stays solid on Taiwan," said Chiang.
While the Trump and Biden administrations may have some differences in style, their China policy seems to be on the same drawing board. Looks like Waltz could still deal with Taiwan issues if he gets the UN gig, despite the job change. 🌐 🗣️
The delegation rounded off the day with visits to the US Congress' intelligence, foreign affairs, and armed services committees, the US-Taiwan Business Council, the Heritage Foundation think tank, and former AIT chair Laura Rosenberger.
The complex global tech landscape and US-China trade tensionsYeah, some serious geopolitical games are afoot. The whole mess involves Taiwan's advanced chipmaking capabilities, which China is trying to get its grubby hands on through embarrassing workarounds like disguising their products as originating from other countries. The US, meanwhile, is keen to prevent this from happening, and has been clamping down on such dodgy practices under customs laws. But with ace chipmakers like TSMC supplying global markets, including China, tracking supply chains to uncover exactly where the chips are popping up isn't easy, and requires a hefty dose of transparency. Cooperation between countries is key to stopping this blatant swindling, and educating companies about the dangers of fudging origin claims. 🔍 🔒
- The Taiwanese legislators, led by Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang, urged Interpol for collaboration in combating the deceptive origin washing of semiconductor products, stating that Taiwan's exclusion from Interpol hinders their ability to track these activities.
- In a recent effort to enforce policy and legislation against war-and-conflicts, the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security voiced concerns over Chinese companies incorporating Taiwanese, high-end chips, misrepresenting their origin to dodge tariffs or restrictions.
- The discussion between Taiwanese lawmakers and US officials also touched upon crime-and-justice issues, with the former expressing concern over the potential breach of US export controls by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), as one of their chips allegedly ended up in a Huawei Technologies Co product.
- In the realm of general news and politics, former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised continued US support for Taiwan's security, economy, and democracy, praising their efforts in maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.
- With Mike Waltz's tenure as US national security adviser ending, the focus has shifted to his potential role as the ambassador to the UN. Regardless of the leadership changes, the policy-and-legislation surrounding US-Taiwan relations remains strong, according to Taiwanese lawmakers, with both the Trump and Biden administrations sharing similar China policies.
