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Friday 4 July 2025
Thailand moves to limit foreign workers at PCB plants amid trade tensions with China
Thailand plans to restrict foreign employment at manufacturing facilities to 70% local workers, targeting Chinese companies suspected of using the country to circumvent US import restrictions, as Taiwan and China PCB makers expand operations there
Friday 4 July 2025
Trump's Vietnam tariff deal eases some market uncertainty, but 40% transshipment clause raises new risks

President Donald Trump announced that the US has reached a new tariff agreement with Vietnam, lowering tariffs on Vietnamese exports to the US from a previously reciprocal rate of 46% to 20%. While the tech and electronics industries generally welcomed the announcement, experts say the real game-changer may lie in a lesser-discussed clause: a 40% tariff on transshipped goods. The details of its implementation—and the criteria for what qualifies as transshipment—remain unclear

Friday 4 July 2025
South Korea cuts reliance on Japanese chip materials, but faces hurdles in advanced technologies
In the high-stakes world of semiconductors, materials are everything. In South Korea, the issue became a national priority after a 2019 trade dispute with Japan sent shockwaves through its tech sector. In a tit-for-tat diplomatic standoff, Tokyo slapped export restrictions on critical chipmaking materials—photoresists, hydrogen fluoride, and polyimide. With Japanese firms controlling more than 90% of the global supply, the move threatened to derail South Korea's chip production and exposed its deep dependence on foreign suppliers
Friday 4 July 2025
New US-Vietnam tariff pact prompts display makers to double down in Vietnam
On July 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a tariff agreement with Vietnam. This agreement marks the first trade deal between the Trump administration and an Asian country, excluding China, signaling a shift in US trade policy in the region
Friday 4 July 2025
Vietnam tariff negotiations mark Asia's first; optical industry acknowledges varied impact
Vietnam has become the first Asian country to complete reciprocal tariff negotiations with the US, with optical manufacturers including AOET and Ability operating production facilities in Vietnam
Friday 4 July 2025
China-India rivalry forces Foxconn to rethink manpower strategy
As 2025 begins under President Donald Trump's second term, rising trade tensions and tariffs are pushing regionalized manufacturing. In this context, Foxconn is reportedly recalling Chinese engineers from its Indian operations, highlighting the complex China-India dynamics shaping global industry
Friday 4 July 2025
Tata and Tower Semiconductor reportedly shortlisted for India's SCL upgrade
Tata Semiconductor and Tower Semiconductor have advanced to the financial bidding stage to modernize the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, Mint reports. The shortlisted firms will compete to upgrade the facility's outdated 180nm chip line with advanced equipment and long-term support
Thursday 3 July 2025
Samsung completes development of 1c DRAM, paving way for HBM4 rollout

Samsung Electronics has successfully developed its sixth-generation DRAM, known as 1c DRAM, built using a 10nm class process. The product has received internal Production Readiness Approval (PRA), signaling it has met key quality and performance benchmarks and is now in the final phase before mass production. The milestone brings Samsung one step closer to its goal of mass-producing HBM4, or fourth-generation high-bandwidth memory, in the second half of 2025

Thursday 3 July 2025
Micron tightens grip on AI memory market as Samsung certification lags
Micron Technology is stepping up its game in the competitive high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, leveraging recent wins to boost production and capture rising demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms
Thursday 3 July 2025
Details of the US-China trade agreement remain unclear, with no consensus on rare earths and chip controls
On June 26, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced that the US had signed a trade agreement with China on June 25, which was also confirmed by China's Ministry of Commerce. From the talks in Geneva on May 11 to negotiations in London on June 10, followed by Trump's recent announcement, what exactly have the two countries agreed upon
Thursday 3 July 2025
US unleashes Section 232 tariffs, global trade talks in disarray
With the July 9, 2025, deadline for new tariffs fast approaching, trade talks between the US and key partners like Japan, India, and France are showing signs of strain. At the heart of the deadlock lies Washington's increasingly aggressive use of Section 232 tariffs, a tool with far greater bite than traditional reciprocal duties
Thursday 3 July 2025
BYD's Mexico factory on hold due to trade uncertainty and geopolitical concerns
Facing rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty surrounding US trade policy under President Donald J. Trump, Chinese EV maker BYD has put plans for a large-scale factory in Mexico on hold
Thursday 3 July 2025
Luxshare to list in Hong Kong as part of global strategy, joins wave of Apple suppliers
Luxshare Precision Industry Co., a key supplier to Apple and a leading player in China's electronics manufacturing sector, plans to issue H-shares and list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The initiative aims to support its global expansion strategy, boost access to international capital, and improve corporate governance and transparency
Thursday 3 July 2025
China rare earth curbs put US in chokehold

Rare earth elements—critical to electric vehicles, defense systems, and advanced electronics—are once again at the center of geopolitical tensions. China, which controls more than 90 percent of the world's rare earth refining and processing capacity, continues to wield outsized influence over global supply

Thursday 3 July 2025
Radiant merges three companies in two years to fuel meta-optics expansion
Radiant Opto-Electronics, a major manufacturer of backlight modules, acquired Finnish optics company Nanocomp in August 2023. Just over a year later, in September 2024, Radiant fully acquired Danish meta-optics firm NIL Technology ApS (NILT)
Research Report Database
Intel signals overhaul of IDM 2.0 and foundry strategy with Lip-Bu Tan's appointment, says DIGITIMES