With a focus on mainstream “legacy” chips from China, the US and the EU agreed to extend their cooperation on identifying disruptions in the semiconductor business by three years.

Following a two-day meeting of their Trade and Technology Council, the two sides released a joint statement on Friday that covered the conclusions of the meeting in length of l2 pages.

It stated that the two partners would confer on planned action to remove distortions on the global supply chain and exchange market intelligence regarding “non-market” policies and practices, which they contend are prevalent in China.

Vice President Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission, who is in charge of EU technology policy, declared that the US and the EU were moving forward with “the next steps” in relation to legacy semiconductors.

At a press conference, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that China was now manufacturing about 60% of legacy chips, which are used in automobiles, home appliances, and medical equipment, and would be doing so for the foreseeable future.

Furthermore, we are aware that the Chinese government is heavily subsidising that sector, which might seriously distort the market. We’re concentrating on it because of this,” she stated.

She stated that the EU would shortly conduct a similar exercise and that the Commerce Department had already started a poll to evaluate market distortion. The two organisations planned to exchange the results.

Additionally, the two partners pledged to work together on research to identify substitutes for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in chips.

Studies reveal that the “forever chemicals” might be harmful to human health and do not decompose easily.

(Adapted from ThePrint.in)