A semiconductor alliance comprising the US, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea held its first video meeting of senior officials on February 16 to discuss global chip supply chain resilience.
Key points
- The U.S.-East Asia Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience Working Group is colloquially referred to as “Fab 4” or “Chip 4”.
- The US in September 2022 convened the first meeting of the working group, colloquially called “Fab 4” or “Chip 4”, to discuss how to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain, after a global chip crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The “Fab” in the name refers to a shorthand industry expression for the fabrication plants where chips, used in everything from fridges and smartphones to fighter jets, are made.
- The group’s members are home to the world’s largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix, and key Japanese suppliers of semiconductor materials and equipment.
