Tom Shoesmith, Silicon Valley

tom.shoesmith@us.kwm.com | +1 (650) 888-2611

美国两党于参议院提出一项新的法案以扶持美国半导体产业。此举表明两党将继续协同为美国高科技行业的这一重要领域提供支持。

这一法案是《美国半导体制造厂法案》（American Foundries Act）。以往政治立场相异的议员均对该法案表示支持——包括Tom Cotton（阿肯色州共和党）和Chuck Schumer（纽约州民主党），以及Kirsten Gillebrand（纽约州民主党）和Marco Rubio（佛罗里达州共和党）。该法案将拨款150亿美元以激励本土新兴半导体生产制造，并提供另外50亿美元作为公私合伙制激励措施支持美国半导体制造。本月初由参议院Mark Warner（弗吉尼亚州民主党）和John Cornyn（得克萨斯州共和党）提出的《创造有效激励措施为美国生产半导体法案》（Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act）将提供约200亿美元资金。

两党这一举措在美国受到欢迎。然而中国的相关支出数年来均超过提议法案下的拨款水平。中国面向半导体产业的国家大基金二期投资约300亿美元，而这仅仅是中国提升半导体产业竞争力布局计划的一部分。在一份2017 年的报告中，奥巴马政府已经注意到中国推动其半导体产业现代化将产生的影响，但美国在对政策的资金落实上仍然滞后。

如同我们在此前文章中分析的，美国海外投资委员会（CFIUS）虽然并未全盘禁止，但已经禁止了一批中国对美半导体产业的投资交易。与此同时，美国半导体公司越来越多地寻求在中国的合资和扩张机会，这是因为无论政治风向如何变幻，中国仍然是世界最大的半导体市场。

两国是否会在未来不同政府的领导下持续目前的贸易紧张局势是两国迫切观望和揣测的话题。一些分析认为，从Joe Biden过往的多边主义倾向来看，其与中国打交道时不太可能采用激进的关税、制裁和出口管制措施。但无论如何，在可预见的未来，中美双边竞争将是美国两党共同持续关注的问题。

 

60-Second CFIUS

Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Fund US Semiconductor Industry

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced another bill to aid the US semiconductor industry. The move signals continuing support across party lines for this important part of the US high technology sector.

The “American Foundries Act” is backed by members not usually found in the same political zip code—including Tom Cotton (R-Ark) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), as well as Kirsten Gillebrand (D-NY) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla). The legislation would provide $15 billion in incentives for new domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and another $5 billion for public-private partnerships to update US foundries. The “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act” introduced by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) earlier this month would also provide about $20 billion in funding.

This bipartisan effort is welcome in the US, but China’s spending has for years outstripped the funding levels in the proposed legislation. The second national semiconductor fund in the PRC was capitalized with almost $30 billion, and is only one part of Beijing’s national business plan to establish a competitive semiconductor industry. The Obama Administration noted the significance of China’s drive to modernize its semiconductor industry in a 2017 report, but the US still lags in putting its money behind its policy.

As we pointed out in an earlier post, CFIUS has blocked a number of Chinese investments in the US semiconductor industry, although some deals are still getting through. Meanwhile, US semiconductor companies are increasingly turning to joint ventures and expansion in China itself, because regardless of the political cross-currents, China remains the world’s largest market for semiconductors.

Whether current trade tensions would continue under a different administration remains a subject of intense speculation in both countries. Some analysts believe Joe Biden’s historical preference for multilateralism indicates he might be less likely to support aggressive use of tariffs, sanctions and export controls in dealing with China. Regardless, however, bilateral competition is likely to remain a bipartisan concern for the foreseeable future.