News: Markets
11 June 2020
Huawei sanctions bad for US semiconductor competitiveness​, says Strategy Analytics
The new US Government policy announced on 15 May against Huawei (to restrict its ability to use US technology and software to design and manufacture its semiconductors abroad) threatens US semiconductor industry exports, innovation and global leadership, reckons market research firm Strategy Analytics in its report ‘Huawei Sanctions: Bad for Telecoms, Global Semiconductors and the US Economy’, which details the short-term and longer-term effects of the new policy on US semiconductor firms, global wireless and international trade overall.
“The new trade policy aimed against Huawei seems to be motivated by US domestic politics rather than a clear understanding of international trade in the technology sector,” says report author Christopher Taylor, director of RF & Wireless Components. “The US has legitimate differences with China, but the damage to the US semiconductors industry from this new policy would start at $7bn in lost sales, and put the industry’s future competitiveness at risk through reduced R&D spending, far outweighing any benefits to the US,” he adds.
“Semiconductor suppliers Broadcom, Intel, Micron, Skyworks, and Qualcomm and many others will be affected,” believes Stephen Entwistle, VP of strategic technologies at Strategy Analytics. “The US semiconductor industry employs about 250,000, and a loss of US semiconductor leadership would put these jobs at risk, with a multiplier effect extending to three or four times as many US jobs. Foreign semiconductor firms in the supply chain using US technology including MediaTek and the foundry TSMC are also barred from selling to Huawei under the policy, which will affect the entire electronics industry,” he concludes.
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