SINGAPORE

Contractor under probe for flouting environmental pollution laws at Tengah worksite


The violations were first publicised in December 2023 by Mr Jimmy Tan, who traced a trail of muddy water in Jurong Canal on bicycle to its source at the construction site.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI


Silty discharge flowing into a drain from a Tengah construction site.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI


When PUB conducted its own checks recently, it found that the firm had started unauthorised earth works at the construction site.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Ang Qing
UPDATED
1 HOUR AGO


SINGAPORE - A contractor hired to build a new primary school in Tengah is under probe for flouting a raft of rules aimed at minimising the impact of construction work on the environment.

The violations racked up by contractor Trust-Build Engineering & Construction include starting works without getting approval from national water agency PUB for earth control measures.

Earth control measures are steps taken to ensure that silt from construction sites do not run into the waterways.

Trust-Build was appointed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to carry out works for the upcoming Pioneer Primary School. Pioneer Primary will relocate from Jurong West to Tengah in 2026 and be the first primary school in the area.

In response to queries, an MOE spokesman said Trust-Build also “did not implement adequate earth control measures on site, which had resulted in the discharge of silt to the surrounding area and water bodies”.

He added that MOE will work closely with the contractor, the appointed consultant team and the government agencies to make sure no rules are flouted at the worksite.

The violations were first publicised in December 2023 by food delivery rider and nature enthusiast Jimmy Tan, 50, who traced a trail of muddy water in Jurong Canal on bicycle to its source at the construction site

In a video taken by Mr Tan during his second visit to the Tengah work site on Dec 25, piles of excavated soil can be seen uncovered and exposed to the elements.

Mr Tan, who has been involved in campaigns calling for the conservation of Tengah and other forests in Singapore, said: “If the sediment was at a less ecologically sensitive area, I would not have thought twice.

“So, I did my part as an active citizen concerned about the environment and gave feedback about lapses so that they don’t happen again.”

When PUB conducted its own checks recently, it found that the firm had started unauthorised earth works at the construction site, said Mr Yeo Keng Soon, the PUB Catchment and Waterways Department director.

The construction site of Pioneer Primary School on Jan 3, 2024.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

He added that the contractor also failed to put in place steps to prevent silty discharge like silt fences, cut-off drains, holding ponds and treatment plants, he added.

Mr Yeo said: “The contractor is rectifying the lapses at the site and will need to implement the necessary earth control measures by the end of January 2024.”

He added that “enforcement action” will be taken against the contractor, but did not give details.

PUB has, so far, not found anything out of the ordinary in Jurong Lake’s water quality – where the water from the worksite drains into after making its way through the canals, he said.

National Parks Board officers also did not find any impact on the flora and fauna at Jurong Lake Gardens during their checks.

With the recent rainy weather, contractors have been reminded to put in place steps to contain and treat silty water at construction sites before it is discharged into drains, said Mr Yeo.

The Housing Board has also advised contractors to inspect the drainage system within and around the construction sites daily in the light of the rainy season.

A Trust-Build Engineering and Construction spokesman, in response to queries, said the firm has submitted information to the authorities and had no further comments.

Engineering and environmental experts The Straits Times spoke to said dumping large quantities of soil into drains and water bodies can lead to flash floods during heavy rain.

Sediment in a drain originating from discharge from a Tengah construction site on Jan 3
. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI


Mr David Ng, chairman of the civil and structural engineering technical committee at the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, said sediment that has accumulated and settled in a waterway makes it harder for water to drain away.

“This can lead to flooding, as the water from upstream cannot flow fast enough,” he said.

Associate Professor Leong Eng Choon, from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, said the flooding can happen similarly in a reservoir because its capacity to store water will be reduced when too much sediment is discharged into it.

He said: “Regular dredging and maintenance of the waterway to remove the sediments is needed.”

Environmental consultant Tony O’Dempsey said fine silt washed out from construction sites can also make the water murky, and make it harder for fish and birds like kingfishers to find food. Silt can also smother aquatic life.

He said: “Sand deposits that originate from these sites are a long-term problem because these do not wash away easily. This impacts habitat for freshwater crabs, tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, effectively turning the stream bed habitat into a desert for some time.”

Mr O’Dempsey said construction sites are expected to place covers during wet weather to ensure that loose soil is not washed into the drain.

Regular users of the park connector next to Jurong Canal said the water is usually brown and murky.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI


Six people who regularly use the park connector along Jurong Canal and Jurong Lake Gardens – located south of the Tengah worksite – on Jan 3 said the water in the canals and lakes in the area has been brown and murky for as long as they can remember.

One of them, retired noodle supplier Ng Bin San, 64, who has been exercising next to the canal for the past two years, said he and his friends have wondered about the colour of the water. Speaking in Mandarin, he said: “Sometimes we can see fish and terrapins, but usually the water is just brown.”

When The Straits Times went to check on a drain that channels water into Jurong Lake on Dec 27, 2023 and Jan 3, mounds of sediment – believed to have come from construction sites in the area and the partially hoarded up MOE site just metres away – were seen caked up in the waterway.

Anyone who comes across silty discharge or pollution in drains and canals can call the PUB 24-hour hotline on 1800-2255-782, and provide details of the location as well as photos and videos to help investigations.

Those found guilty of conducting unauthorised works that discharge silt into drains can be fined up to $50,000 under the Sewerage and Drainage Act.

Taiwan’s Indigenous People’s Role in the China Taiwan Problem

Taiwan’s Indigenous people officially make up more than 2% the island’s population. In recent times, they have found themselves in the middle of political tension between China and Taiwan. VOA's Elizabeth Lee explains. Camera: Elizabeth Lee, Bill Gallo and Stephen Boitano

Contract signed for the first nuclear power plant in Poland


TVN24 | TVN24 News in English
27 września 2023, 23:12
Autor:  gf
Źródło:TVN24 News in English, TVN24 Biznes, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe



Mark Brzezinski: one of the most significant steps forward to date in U.S.-Polish civil nuclear cooperation

Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) and the consortium of Westinghouse and Bechtel signed the Engineering Services Contract (ESC) for the first nuclear power plant in Poland.

The contract was signed at a special ceremony in Warsaw attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski.


The agreement was signed by PEJ CEO Mateusz Berger, Westinghouse CEO Patrick Fragman and John Howanitz of the Bechtel company.


"We have ambitions to rebuild the entire Polish nuclear sector. Today we are attracting specialists from all over the world," said PM Morawiecki. "This Polish-American friendship, which is cemented today by the Nuclear Power Plant, is developing on many levels. It is a multi-faceted cooperation that gives a boost to the development of Poland as a whole. We will thus be a security provider for other countries as well," he added.

"Under the contract, in cooperation with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, Westinghouse and Bechtel will design the first nuclear power plant in Poland," PJE said in a press release.

"The design/engineering documentation includes the main components of the power plant, i.e. the nuclear island, the turbine island and the associated installations and auxiliary equipment, as well as administrative buildings and infrastructure related to the safety of the facility," the company added.

"The primary objective of the conceptual design/engineering is to define the requirements and design/engineering criteria, and specify norms and standards in accordance with which the Polish nuclear project will be executed. The engineering work at this stage will result in more than 400 final deliverables."

The company also informed that "a similar AP1000 reactor, which is referential for the Polish project, is already in operation in the United States".

"Six units of this type operate around the world and more such units are being built in China. The Polish nuclear power plant will be based on the latest experience of Westinghouse and Bechtel, resulting in particular from the construction of Vogtle Unit 4, which introduced improvements over the previously commissioned Unit 3," we read.

"Experienced employees executing the project in the U.S. will also be involved in the activities for the planned power plant in Pomerania. The engineering services will focus on bringing the design in line with technical and regulatory requirements in Europe and Poland," PJE added.

"The establishment of a nuclear culture in Poland means new opportunities for the whole country, we want to introduce the best models," said Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure.

Mateusz Berger, President of the Management Board of Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe, called the deal "a watershed moment not only for our investment project, but also for the entire energy transition process in Poland."

"Today's event concludes the planning stage of the nuclear power plant and commences the execution phase with relevant engineering work," he added.

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski called the contract "one of the most significant steps forward to date in U.S.-Polish civil nuclear cooperation".



"I commend the Polish government and the companies involved in the project for their focus in seeing this effort through to this critical point. This is not just a commercial venture - our hope is to support Poland as it becomes a hub for civil nuclear technology deployment. Energy security is national security, and America’s security is interdependent with Poland’s security," he added.


According to theThe Polish Nuclear Power Programme, the first nuclear reactor will start producing energy in 2033.


Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24 Biznes, Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe

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PODZIEL SIĘ

Scottish zoo re-homes black bear which survived war in Ukraine

Yampil, a 12-year-old Asiatic black bear, that was rescued from a zoo in Donetsk, Ukraine explores his new surroundings on his first day in his new home at the Five Sisters Zoo near Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain on Jan 12, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters

PUBLISHED ONJANUARY 12, 2024 

LONDON — An Asiatic black bear which was found in an abandoned zoo in eastern Ukraine five months after Russia's invasion in 2022, arrived at his new permanent home in Scotland on Friday (Jan 12).

Yampil, named after the village in the Donetsk region where he was found, was one of only a few out of 200 animals at the zoo to survive.

After being rescued, he was cared for by a Belgian charity before his more than 12-hour journey to Five Sisters Zoo, around 20 miles west of Edinburgh.

"When the volunteers found Yampil, a shell had not long exploded near his cage, and he was concussed. He was in terrible condition; five more days and they wouldn't have been able to save him," Brian Curran, owner of Five Sisters Zoo, said.

"We have the best team on hand to care for him and help make this transition as peaceful and calm for him as possible."

Yampil will be housed in a temporary enclosure while the zoo, which has previously re-homed bears from travelling circuses, fundraises for his new permanent enclosure.

Dog meat: Why is it a sensitive topic in South Korea?

12th January 2024,
By Yuna Ku 

BBC Korean

Dog farmers are served dog meat in Seoul at a rally in 2019

"Do you eat dog?"

It is among the most controversial questions a foreigner can ask in South Korea - although the reaction and answer often depends on the age of the person asked.

"It's so tiring, I always have to clarify that I have never eaten it. Canine dishes are mostly for the elderly in South Korea, but foreigners often generalise the practice," says Park Eun-kyoung, a consultant in her 30s currently working in Germany, who admits to finding the question offensive at times.

"It carries a negative connotation, implying that Koreans eat something highly inappropriate and this culture is barbaric."

But the days of fielding questions like these look numbered: earlier this week, South Korea's government passed a new law to ban the breeding, butchering, distribution and sale of dogs for meat by 2027.

It will effectively end a centuries-old practice. Historically, cows were highly valued and, explains Dr Joo Young-ha, an anthropology professor at the Graduate School of Korean Studies, they were so prized a government permit had to be obtained to slaughter them up until the late 19th Century.

And so, other protein sources were needed. For those living in the Korean peninsula, dog meat was one of the best options, enjoyed by people across the class spectrum, although there were always those who avoided it.

One of the best known dog meat dishes is a soup, called "bosintang"

But much like any other meat, well-loved dishes using the product emerged, such as dog meat soup, called "bosintang", and boiled dog meat slices. Speak to older South Koreans, and many still extoll its virtues as a delicacy which is easy to digest and boosts energy, especially during a hot summer.

So it came as a shock to many during the 1988 Seoul Olympics - at that point, the largest international event South Korea had ever hosted - when criticism of dog meat consumption began hitting the headlines around the world.


"Initially, many people, especially the social elites were angered, perceiving it as a disrespect to other cultures. However, over time, more people felt shame and became more critical," Dr Joo said.

Fast-forward more than three decades, and South Korea is a very different country, not least in how many people eat dog meat.

According to a Gallup poll last year, only 8% of people had tried dog meat in the past 12 months, a significant decline from 27% in 2015. Figures provided by the Korean Association of Edible Dog, an organisation representing the industry, also point to a decline.

It says there are now about 3,000 dog breeding farms in South Korea, a significant decrease from 10,000 in the early 2010s, but also considerably higher than the government's figure, which puts the number at about 1,100.

The number of Koreans who have pet dogs has risen in recent years

Meanwhile, pet ownership has surged. Survey data from 2022 suggests one in four South Koreans own pets, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

In December, it was reported that pet strollers had outsold baby buggies for the first time last year, although this could be as much a reflection of South Korea's declining birth rate as its love of animals.

And then there is the president, Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee, both famed pet lovers, with six dogs and five cats.

It has taken this government less than two years to bring in the law that previous administrations failed to enact since the idea was first mooted decades ago. The suggestion it could be reviewed under Mr Yoon's predecessor was blocked amid harsh criticism.

This new law now means, in three years' time, those involved in the trade will face either fines or jail time if they continue their businesses. It does not, however, outlaw the eating of dog meat.




1:14  Watch Seoul correspondent Jean Mackenzie's report from one of the few places in the capital where you can still eat dog meat

Even so, it has been welcomed by activists, including Jo Hee Kyung, the head of the Korean Animal Welfare Association (KAWA), who has been campaigning on the issue since the late 1990s.

The ban was, she says, the "only option" to stop abuse of dogs, adding: "I hope the world stops abusing animals in the name of tradition or culture."

But not everyone is convinced, not least those who make their living in the dog meat trade.

"We do recognise that far more people do not eat dog meat compared to those who do. We do know the market is decreasing… but still, it's our right to run a business," said Joo Yeong-bong, an experienced dog farmer and the president of the Korean Association of Edible Dog.

He argues that better regulation of the industry - previously there was little to none - could have dealt with many concerns over animal rights.

And then there is Dr Ahn Yong Geun, a former food engineering professor at Chungnam National University who is often referred to as "Dr Dog Meat".

One of the very few dog meat researchers in South Korea, he started his research during the 1988 Olympics, frustrated by what he felt was a passive response by the government and academia to overseas criticism, and now argues for the benefits of eating dog meat.

According to Dr Ahn, it has a low, unsaturated fat content and could have served as a healthy substitute for beef or pork.

Instead, it looks set to be relegated to history - a move he questions as being in conflict with the basic freedoms outlined in the country's constitution.

"You cannot dictate what people can and can't eat," says dog farmer Mr Joo.

It is a feeling shared by Lee Bora, a dog owner in her 30s who is opposed to eating dog meat and welcomes the new law, but adds she is "kind of worried" about its implications.

"Emotionally, I wish people wouldn't breed and slaughter dogs for food," she says.

"However, in principle, I think dogs are not so different from cows or pigs."

 UNIDO announces launch of Global Alliance for Responsible and Green Minerals

Industrial development and the global energy transition both require critical minerals and metals.

photo: UNIDO

NEWSROOM

JANUARY 12, 2024

Industrial development and the global energy transition both require critical minerals and metals. As a result, demand for minerals like cobalt, nickel, lithium and copper is estimated to increase by 500% by 2050.

To promote a socially responsible and environmentally sound mining sector, UNIDO’s Director General, Gerd Müller, announced the establishment of a “Global Alliance and Partnership for Responsible and Green Minerals”, in cooperation with international partners and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the Ministerial Roundtable of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. All countries are invited to participate, although initially countries at the forefront of critical minerals mining in Africa, Asia and Latin America will be targeted to join, many of them developing and least developed countries.

In his opening remarks of the Ministerial Roundtable, Müller emphasized that “without critical minerals, there is no green energy transition, no green industrialization”. He highlighted that “a Global Alliance for Responsible and Green Minerals, with binding environmental and social standards for the mining industry and an independent certification system, has advantages for all market participants. It creates a real win-win situation for the countries with the raw materials. It will increase local value addition and production alongside jobs in the mining regions, and hundreds of millions of people, primarily in artisanal and small-scale mining, will benefit from living wages, adherence to fundamental human rights, as well as standards in the sector. Finally, it will help reduce and minimize damage to the environment.”

The Alliance will work to set up international guidelines and benchmarks for sustainable critical minerals supply chains, help countries with the implementation of standards and policies, supported by a sound certification system. Participating countries and industry stakeholders will benefit from knowledge transfer and capacity building. Alignment of policy, technology and financing approaches will be at the core of the new Alliance, promoting a fair and green sector that supports inclusive and sustainable economic development.

UNIDO will support with policy advice, capacity building, and implementation of standards and certification, and will act as the convener of this Alliance, bringing together governments, the mining industry, industry associations, relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international financial institutions, technology providers and academia to advance the capacities of partner countries for sustainable critical minerals supply chains.

The launch of the new Alliance and accelerating progress in promoting a sustainable mining sector globally took centre stage during Müller’s meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef.

They also reviewed recent progress on the further strengthening of cooperation between UNIDO and Saudi Arabia. Several new flagship initiatives and concrete programmes are in the pipeline and will be launched soon. Sound industrial policy is crucial for the diversification of the Kingdom’s economy, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its National Industrial Strategy. UNIDO will support in areas such as industrial development advice, statistical data availability, and capacity building for industrial policymakers.

Supporting the diversification of Saudi Arabia’s economy was also the topic of Director General Müller’s meeting with Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal F. Al Ibrahim. They discussed avenues of cooperation to support developing countries in achieving their industrial development goals, with a particular focus on least developed countries (LDCs) and landlocked developing countries. Joint initiatives to increase local value addition and industrialization in areas like access to energy, food security through water management, agritech and agribusiness were explored. One particular issue discussed was UNIDO’s support for the development of industrial policies, statistics observatories and economic diversification strategies in the Kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries, both in terms of what UNIDO can offer for the development of methodologies and the provision of expertise as well as for implementation.

The visit of the Director General to the Kingdom further intensified the new quality of cooperation between UNIDO and Saudi Arabia. At the 20th UNIDO General Conference, UNIDO’s Member States decided that Saudi Arabia will host the next UNIDO General Conference in Riyadh from 23 to 27 November 2025.

 Denmark: Reforms needed to tackle labour shortages, adapt to population ageing

The latest OECD Economic Survey of Denmark says that GDP growth is projected to slow to 1.2% in 2024 before picking up to 1.5% in 2025.

NEWSROOM

JANUARY 12, 2024

photo: Unsplash

Denmark’s economy was resilient to the COVID-19 crisis and recovered swiftly. Over the past two years, economic activity has slowed related to higher energy prices and costs of living. Living standards remain high, supported by well-designed policies. Reforms should focus on addressing long-term challenges posed by population ageing and the digital and green transitions.

The latest OECD Economic Survey of Denmark says that GDP growth is projected to slow to 1.2% in 2024 before picking up to 1.5% in 2025. Headline inflation is expected to decline to 2.8% in 2024 and 2.5% in 2025.

Employment growth has been strong, despite the slowdown in economic activity, and recruitment difficulties persist. Consumption and investment have decelerated. Higher borrowing costs have contributed to the weakening of the housing market. Key risks to the outlook include a more severe correction in housing and real estate markets and the inflationary impact of labour market developments.

“Denmark’s economy showed resilience to the COVID-19 crisis, though growth has slowed over the past two years. Its public debt, at around 30% of GDP, is one of the lowest in the OECD, and pension reform has helped to improve long-run fiscal sustainability,” OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen said, presenting the Survey in Copenhagen alongside Denmark’s Minister for Finance Nicolai Wammen. “Looking ahead, key policy priorities will be to encourage longer working lives and address persistent labour shortages, especially in long-term care and digital sectors. Further incentivising emissions cuts across sectors would make an important contribution to advancing with the green transition.”

Despite successful pension reforms and rising employment rates among older workers, population ageing poses risks to the Danish social model. While public spending on pensions is projected to decline thanks to past reforms and private pension saving is high, annual net ageing costs including health and long-term care are projected to increase by around 1.1% of GDP by 2050.

Reducing the regulatory constraints on local government autonomy, as planned, can help to achieve savings, but the impact of the reform on the quality of services needs to be carefully monitored. Other avenues for efficiency gains include improving public procurement, deepening cooperation across municipalities and reforming public employment services. Reform of early retirement schemes should ensure that people with reduced work capacity can remain in the labour market.

Persistent labour shortages are holding back growth and complicating the provision of welfare services, especially long-term care. Moving taxation further away from personal income to housing would bolster work incentives. Changing the education and training systems to match evolving skills needs and easing obstacles to international recruitment in shortage areas would help.

Education reform can speed up youth entry into the labour market. Limiting the duration of very generous student allowances as planned and targeting the tenth grade to students with greater learning needs will help to reduce graduation ages. Too few students opt for vocational education and training. Reforms to tackle the lack of mobility between vocational and academic tracks are needed, as well as efforts to promote the opportunities offered by vocational education.

Denmark has put in place ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and made significant progress in achieving efficient climate change mitigation policies. Further policy reforms are needed. The green tax reform needs to be completed to accelerate emission reductions and avoid distortions across sectors and technologies.

Introducing a tax on emissions from agricultural production as currently under discussion could help to achieve this in a cost-efficient way. Tax revenues could be used to help farmers to switch to less emission-intensive activities or to reduce the emissions intensity of their production.

From Trade War to Tech War: A glimpse at a hitherto “Hot Peace” between the US – China rivalry

From Trump's administration until today, U.S, as one of the core nations, has felt threatened by the rise of China with its emerging and breakthrough industrialization reform.

BY MUWALLIHA SYAHDANI
JANUARY 12, 2024

Image source: X @POTUS

From Trump’s administration until today, the United States of America, as one of the core nations, has felt threatened by the rise of China with its emerging and breakthrough industrialization reform. China–as the United States’s longstanding trade partner–has grown massively in a way that the United States perceived as unfair trade practices. From Bush to Biden, the Potus has grown concerned about China’s involvement in the global trading chain. It can’t be denied that the U.S in 1979 helped China reform its domestic economy under Deng Xiaoping by inviting the country to join the World Trade Organization–formerly known as GATT–to spread democracy and capitalism to mainland China. This amities move means the establishment of the U.S.-China trade relations with the founding of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in 1983.

An assertive move was shown primarily in Trump’s administration even though the concerns have risen since George W. Bush’s era. It is being recorded that in 2004, the U.S., for the first time, sued a case against China in WTO over discriminatory taxes (USTR, 2004b). This discriminatory tax was given to home-based semiconductor companies, while the U.S. perceived this preferential treatment disadvantaged the U.S. companies in China. China was the market of $2.02 billion in 2003 to U.S. semiconductor producers like Qualcomm and Intel (USTR, 2004b). China has not lived up to its commitment after joining the WTO in December 2001. The U.S. case filing was the first time any country had filed a lawsuit against China in WTO Dispute Settlement. However, Bush still saw China as supporting the U.S.’s foreign policy at that time–the Global War on Terrorism in the Middle East–making the U.S. take a wishy-washy step towards China.

The same skeptical move toward China was made by George H.W. Bush in 1990. Through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Bush senior began taking a prejudiced step towards China domestically. Bush ordered the CFIUS to divestate the U.S. aerospace manufacturer–MAMCO Molding–stocks owned by China’s National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation–CATIC (Schaus, 2016). Continuing to Obama’s Era, through CFIUS, the trade animosity also cracked down on China’s goods. Obama made a string–but not that massive compared to Trump’s era–decisions towards China, especially in terms of divestated, tariff imposement and arranged a mega trade deal across transpacific. Two significant moves through CFIUS by Obama First, in 2012, Obama ordered the divestiture of several wind farm companies in the U.S. from a firm called Ralls, which is owned by two Chinese nationals. In 2016, for the second time through CFIUS, Obama canceled the transaction from China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) to acquise Aixtron–a joint company between the U.S. and Germany (Reuters, 2016). 

In the matters of tariff imposement, Obama has been imposing added tariff on Chinese goods especially the tires. This policy took effect on 26 September 2009 under an anti-dumping scheme. The tariff imposed on the tire from China is 4 per cent but will cost an additional 35 per cent for one year. Rates will be reduced to 30 per cent in the second year and 25 per cent in the third year (N.Y. Times, 2009). This safeguard policy comes after pressure from domestic “United Steelworkers” as the union feels threatened by the state’s subsidies to automobile and light-truck tires imported from China’s manufacturers. The imposition of tariff barriers to goods from China became the first done by the U.S since China joined the WTO in 2001. This hallmark is the first decade-long trade war between the U.S. and China.

Apart from the tariff measurements, Obama’s era also showed a significant milestone in balancing the economic revival of China. Obama has negotiated a mega trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to contain China’s growing ascendancy in terms of trade. At that time, in the conclusion of the agreements, the signed countries consisted of 12 countries across the Pacific–United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam through the United States withdrew from the deals in 2017. TPP once was the world’s largest free trade deal, accounting for 40 per cent of the global economy in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is interesting that China is not even invited to talks and to be a part of TPP, seeing that this country is the second largest economy in the world and its proximity across the Pacific (Asia-Pacific). Obama walked the talk of his campaign to take more assertive action towards China.

Trump is one of the POTUS who heightened the tension towards China, a ploy that looks so different from his predecessor. For the first time in U.S. history, on 6 July 2018, Trump began enacting a 25 per cent tariff on US$34 billion worth of imports from China, including cars, hard disks and aircraft parts. This tariff enactment was based on Section 301 of 197the 4 Trade Act of the United States. China retaliates by imposing a 25 per cent tariff on 545 goods originating from the U.S. worth US$34 billion, including agricultural products, automobiles and aquatic products. The amount of the tariff and the product being imposed to enter the U.S. varies over time. This has led to a continuous tariff and non-tariff war–including the research and development between Huawei and Intel cooperation–even until today. Both countries also have agreed on a trade deal even if the deal is perceived as a failure by the United States (SCMP, 2022).

Going through Biden’s administration, the trade war escalation has gone unpleasant. Biden–although he comes from the Democratic Party–has treated China similarly in a way that sees China’s goods and maneuvers as unfair trade practices. His administration has not only kept those tariffs towards China with some $360 billion tariffs but also imposed export controls and visa limits as well as restrictions on investment flows from U.S. companies to China (Forbes, 2022). In 2022, his administration implemented stringent export controls on computer chips to restrict China’s advanced manufacturing sector, especially semiconductors. The export control was introduced by the CHIP for America Act of 2022. Also, in 2023, Biden signed an executive order that restricts some U.S. investment in Chinese high-tech industries. Biden has a vision of making the U.S. a leading manufacturing country of semiconductor plants, 5G advancement and electric vehicles.

The introduction of the CHIP Act of 2022 has mounted the previously known trade war to the next phase of a tech war between two countries, the U.S. and China. Under the Act, billions of dollars are offered as incentives to manufacture semiconductors across the United States. The U.S. once again intended to revive its semiconductor industry to compete against South Korea and Taiwan. Just a decade ago, the United States was a world-leading semiconductor manufacturer, accounting for 40% of sales, while today, the United States only produces 10% of the global chip supply (CNBC, 2023). It creates geopolitical tension where the U.S. restrains Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) from supplying the chips to China’s giant telecommunications company, Huawei. The United States found a close relationship with Taiwan, especially under Tsai Ing-wen, who came from the Democratic Progressive Party.

With the restraining of chips from Taiwan to China, Huawei, one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers, is teetering to produce a global-friendly smartphone. Since Google blocked Huawei from using Android due to spying concerns, Huawei also can’t use the chips made by Qualcomm–a Snapdragon–or any U.S. chip manufacturer. However, Huawei is still able to produce Mate 60 Pro, which uses a Kirin 9000S processor in the phone that is powered by Huawei’s 7 nanometers (N+2) chip model, designed by Huawei’s chip division–HiSilicon–and manufactured by China’s largest chip vendor–SMIC (TheDiplomat, 2023). Huawei manufactures its chip architecture through its own subsidiary–HiSilicon–called ThaiSen based on ARMv8. Though Huawei is the leading 5G technology manufacturer, admit it or not, China still lags in producing seamless, high-end microchip technology compared to Samsung, TSMC and Qualcomm (Ijiwei, n.d).

Huawei’s breakthrough 7-nanometer chips introduction has provoked the United States, could trigger more scrutiny, and would enlarge the dimension of its retaliation and export and investment control towards China. These variables make the outcome of Huawei, especially China’s moves and how the United States responds, uncertain. With all the countries becoming more inward-looking by producing all their country needs in a self-help way, it provokes an academic-worth scrutinized question: Are the era of global free trade becoming more and more utopic amidst the world welcoming the age of mega trade deals?  

Muwalliha Syahdani

Master Student at International Relations Department, Universitas Gadjah Mada. His study concentrates on: Science, Technology and Art in International Relations (STAIR) and Southeast Asia dynamics.