The United States, Japan, and South Korea, the world’s most technically advanced countries, are now trying to find common ground on the semiconductor issue.
This initiative comes from the United States, or rather President Joe Biden who has recently visited Asia. One of the major stops on Biden’s Asia tour was a Samsung factory in South Korea, which is seen by South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol as a global epicenter of the cutting-edge semiconductor industry. He believes that these small chips are the key to the era of new technological development. Indeed, semiconductors are now an integral part of everything from cars to household appliances. They already play an important role in the development of artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
At the same time, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with her Japanese colleague Koichi Hagiuda in Tokyo to discuss cooperation in areas such as semiconductors and exports. Japan and South Korea are longtime American allies. Nevertheless, the two countries have stronger export ties with China than with the United States. To address this shortcoming and remain a leading force in Asia, the Biden administration recognizes the need to increase the economic importance of its country in the region.
In Tokyo, Biden announced the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new partnership that will promote and facilitate high-standards trade, govern the digital economy, and improve supply-chain resiliency.
