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Biden Arrives in Seoul With Semiconductors and Asian Security in Mind

Bloomberg, May 20, 2022

 

Biden arrives in Seoul, South Korea, May 20, 2022

 

Biden Lands in Asia With Semiconductors and Security in Mind

Sohee Kim and Jenny Leonard 

May 20, 2022, (Bloomberg) --

President Joe Biden arrived in South Korea, where he’s set to visit a Samsung Electronics Co. semiconductor complex Friday as he seeks to bolster supply chains that reduce reliance on China.

Biden’s first trip to Asia as president, which runs through Tuesday, also includes Japan. He’ll meet with regional leaders in a bid to firm up support for his plans to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion and counter security threats posed by China and North Korea, which may conduct its first nuclear test since 2017 with Biden nearby. 

Biden’s trip to the Samsung facility underscores the emphasis he’s placed on strengthening semiconductor alliances among the world’s largest chip making countries to try to ease shortages that have dragged on the global economy. The complex in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, houses the some of biggest chip production lines in the world and makes a wide range of products from memory chips to logic chips for Qualcomm Inc. and other companies.

Samsung is responsible for a third of global memory chip production and controls just less than 20% of outsourced chips for tech clients. South Korea’s largest company has been expanding its facilities at home and in the US to keep up with soaring demand.

The Biden administration has been pushing Congress to approve a broad China competition bill that includes $52 billion in funding for domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing. The president has recently gotten personally engaged in urging Congress to act. 

“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said earlier this month. “If we do, it’s going to help bring down prices, bring home jobs, and power America’s manufacturing comeback.”

Lawmakers, meanwhile, still have to work out differences between the Senate- and House-passed versions of the legislation, a process that could take until the end of the summer.

The White House has often used the continuing global semiconductor shortage and its impact on inflation as arguments for approval of the massive subsidies program. But analysts say the shortage will last through 2023, and the domestic supply of chips coming online will not meaningfully alleviate the crunch.

Samsung announced new investment plans in the US late last year. The company chose Texas in a $17 billion plan as the site of an advanced chip plant set to break ground this year, with a target to kick off operations in the second half of 2024.

Face-to-Face meetings

Biden is set meet new South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol soon after arrival. The conservative Yoon, who took office on May 10, has backed support for Biden’s supply chain initiatives and intends to join a new regional economic grouping the US president is expected to unveil in Japan.

The US and its partners also will kick off the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, part of the Biden administration’s efforts to counter China’s clout in Asia, following the US’s withdrawal from talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership regional trade agreement under former President Donald Trump.

But some Asian nations are reluctant to sign up to the economic framework because they’re unsure what it will mean, US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said.

Some details framework’s details remain hazy, and the Biden administration has stressed it won’t include lower tariffs or better access to US markets. 

Nuclear threat?

North Korea, which has a habit of timing its provocations to political events, may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile or conduct a nuclear test to coincide with Biden’s trip to the region, security officials in the US and South Korea said this week. 

The U.S. push to isolate Russia over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, coupled with increasing animosity toward China, has allowed North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un to strengthen his nuclear deterrent without fear of facing more sanctions at the United Nations Security Council. 

There’s little chance Russia or China would support any measures against North Korea, as they did in 2017 following a series of weapons tests that prompted Trump to warn of “fire and fury” from Pyongyang. 

Biden Lands in Asia With Semiconductors and Security in Mind (msn.com)

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Biden arrives in South Korea with first stop at Samsung

By Trevor Hunnicutt 

May 20, 2022, Reuters --

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong stand next to U.S. President Joe Biden during a visit to a semiconductor factory at the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea, May 20 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden arrived in South Korea on Friday, the first stop on his first trip to Asia as president, where his attempts to counter China's influence and build economic ties are likely to be overshadowed by North Korean threats.

Biden landed at the U.S. air base in Osan, south of Seoul. He was due to meet new President Yoon Suk-yeol, a relative newcomer to politics, for the first time in person. The two will tour a Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) plant together on Friday ahead of a full day of events on Saturday. read more

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee was excused from attending an accounting fraud trial hearing on Friday, a court spokesperson said, as he is expected to host the U.S. president's tour. read more

Countering China's presence in the region is a key Biden theme on the trip, but South Korea is likely to strike a cautious tone in public on the topic given Beijing is Seoul's top trading partner.

South Korea is expected to be among the inaugural members of Biden's Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which will be announced during the trip to set standards on labor, the environment and supply chains.

Asked about Beijing's opposition to the IPEF, Yoon told reporters on Friday that joining the framework does not have to conflict with South Korea's economic ties with China.

"There is no need to see it as a zero-sum," he said.

Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) has been working on plans to build a new electric-vehicle manufacturing plant in the United States, and an announcement could coincide with Biden's visit. read more

Biden and Yoon will also be faced with the weighty issue of North Korea. Leader Kim Jong Un abandoned a freeze on intercontinental ballistic missile testing and appears poised to resume testing of nuclear bombs, perhaps while Biden is in the region.

U.S. cooperation with South Korea and Japan "will only strengthen in the face of further provocations" by North Korea, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters en route to South Korea when asked about the possibility of a weapons test.

"We are prepared for those eventualities," Sullivan said. The United States has told allies and China that such a provocation during the U.S. visit would "cause adjustments to the way that our military is postured in the region," he said.

Yoon has signaled he will take a tougher line on Pyongyang than his predecessor and is expected to ask for Biden's help. Yoon has warned of a preemptive strike if there is a sign of an imminent attack and vowed to strengthen the South's deterrent capability. read more

North Korea has revealed a COVID-19 outbreak in the past week, but it has ignored calls to return to diplomacy.

Washington has said it is open to direct talks at any time with Kim, but it has not publicly offered new ideas about how to coax the country's leadership into conversation. Biden decided not to visit the heavily fortified demilitarized zone separating the South from North Korea.

Biden arrives in South Korea with first stop at Samsung | Reuters

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