The US administration created at least 90% of what we now call technology sovereignty concerns. Technology sovereignty is front and center in this announcement. Before the president started making wildly inappropriate remarks about grabbing territory from allies and other previously unthinkable utterances, almost everyone was happy to buy technology from US hardware and software vendors. Complacency about the state of democracy and rule of law in the US was the norm.
Why does this matter? Markets outside the US account for about half of many US technology vendors' revenue. Who is going to speak up first?
What? Fujitsu has been making supercomputers in Japan for decades.
Its ARM predecessor started in 2014: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugaku_(supercomputer)
And before that they were the using SPARC64: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPARC64_V
While others have made good points, your view is also valid. The messaging nowadays is more toward sovereignty even if the core direction hasn't fundamentally changed significantly.
I do find it funny how the harder some folks push for an outcome, the more they bring about the opposite effect.
I mean the US had this sense of confidence that they were at the top of the power structure, it was widely accepted and overall that position and deal seemed to benefit many others even if not to the same scale. For example with Europe, the US got favorable trade terms in exchange for defense.
Then the Trump administration came in and started pushing the narrative of MAGA, to almost be professional victims. Winner of the world lottery and yet still not happy. And so instead of making America Great again, they are on the fast track of being cut out of favorable global trade. They over played their hand. And once others end up being self sufficient again, it is very difficult to get back in the good books.
In trying to avoid being pushed around, they are now starting to see they could be pushed around.
« For example with Europe, the US got favorable trade terms in exchange for defense. » — It is occupation under the guise of defense, always has been. Keeping Germany divided for 35 years (when it could have become neutral and free in the early 50s), eager not to release control but to expand east instead, exploiting disunity, instigating the Yugoslavia wars of the 90s, more recently the Ukraine war (which goes back more than a decade in preparation).
That's what you get when you put a clown in power. I am not american so I don't care but the whole world noticed the bullying and acted accordingly. For example, US learned the hard way they can't bring down Huawei, tariff china or slow their frontier AI. Now Europe with Mistral and Japan with Moneka, both pointing in the same direction. Big middle finger if I've seen one
I hold out hope that a multipolar world will be more peaceful and stable, with no one national ruling class able to dominate other nations so easily, and developing countries having more options for whom to ally with to their own benefit.
there are many things to blame POTUS for. This isn't one of them... most major fabs were already outside the US to begin with and the US chipmaking industry (well, really Intel) was really struggling even years ago.
I don't see the connection. No matter where US chips are manufactured, it's not the location of the fab that causes technology sovereignty concerns. Those concerns come from questions about the stability and rationality of our leadership: can my jet fighter get nerfed if I wanted to defend Greenland from an invasion? Are my spies being spied on by US technology?
Those questions didn't used to be significant factors.
I'd argue that the consolidation of the chip industry in Taiwan has had the most impact here. If/When China does move to take over Taiwan the global chip supply will be devastated and countries are well in their right to want to diversify from that. If anything, POTUS statements just also solidified the point that like Taiwan, they should not rely on USA or any other country for that matter. Hence why so many countries are pushing for some level of self sustainment.
Chip fabs are a red herring. They haven't been controlled by the US, and give the US no leverage over nations that used to be unequivocal allies. Those places are where technology sovereignty is a hot button issue. They can't count on the US, or US technology companies. You say Taiwan shouldn't rely on the US. But of all places where technology sovereignty is at issue, Taiwan has the least risk of being traded away in a corrupt real estate deal.