SEMI Europe stands for free trade, open markets and the protection of intellectual property. The electronics industry depends on free trade throughout the global supply chain. Trade has been central to technology development and is the key to further innovation.
Over the last 15 years, SEMI members have exported, on average, more than 80 percent of what is produced domestically (SEMI Data, 2018). This microelectronics industry is enabled by complex and expansive supply chains that traverse the globe, perhaps more than most industries. Indeed, there are tens of thousands of suppliers in this industry worldwide. Components are made all around the world, brought together and assembled into a single sub-system, which is then integrated into a larger tool, which is used in the microchip making process.
In this industry, trade and innovation are intrinsically intertwined. Indeed, a change to either affects the other; without trade opportunities, innovation dries up, and without innovation, opportunities to export slow. Heavy investment in R&D and global trade also come with a significantly important part of the microelectronics manufacturing industry: its valuable intellectual property. Companies in our industry invest about 15 percent of revenues into R&D annually and as such, strong global intellectual property protections are a top priority. The ability to leverage this intellectual property means that companies in this industry can engage in trade and reinvest revenue into research, which drives forward innovation. SEMI Europe strongly supports efforts to better protect intellectual property and encourages greater enforcement of trade and investment rules.
The microelectronics ecosystem in Europe is fundamental to the global industry at every single step of process. By allowing companies to better tap into foreign markets, trade has enabled greater research and development (R&D), which fuels innovation and growth.
SEMI Global Trade Principles:
- Remove tariffs and technical barriers on semiconductor products and ensure non-discriminatory market access
- Enable the free flow of cross-border data, eliminate forced localization measures and customs duties on electronic transmissions
- Harmonize global standards to achieve “one standard, one test, accepted everywhere”
- Simplify and harmonize customs and trade facilitation processes; global implementation of trade facilitation processes
- Oppose forced technology transfers and IP theft
- Support efforts that reinforce IP protections and scalable, globally-harmonized, standards-based security policies
- Ensure national security controls on commercial technology are narrowly tailored to specific national security concerns and implemented multilaterally
- Create transparent rules for state-owned and supported enterprises to ensure fair competition and non-discriminatory treatment globally