• The US, Dutch and Japanese have joined the American sanctions package against China for high end semiconductors, creating an international ecosystem of production.
• The nature of the semiconductor industry requires multiple steps of production that must all be done in the same place, making it difficult to replace missing countries.
• The Dutch need a strong ally to avoid getting dragged into continental affairs and the US is the best option for them.
• The Japanese are co–mingled with the US through trade deals and are the only country to have struck deals with both the Trump and Biden administrations.
• Korea is the only country left to join the sanctions, but they are in a difficult spot with their neighbors.
• The Chinese are now out of the game for mid to high end chips, leaving the globalized system of trade for these chips in its final years.
Published January 31, 2023
Visit YouTube to watch Peter Zeihan’s original vlog Semiconductors: China’s the Odd Man Out
