[News] China’s Probe into U.S. Chip Subsidies May Target Texas Instruments

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While China plans to initiate anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into U.S. tech companies as a countermeasure to U.S.’s tightening chip controls, Texas Instruments may be among the first firms to be targeted, according to EE Times China and ijiwei.

Industry insiders cited by the reports note that Texas Instruments remains to be one of the few major U.S. companies with significant mature process capacity. Notably, it has previously been accused of selling low- to mid-range chips at low prices in China, as highlighted by the reports.

The EE Times China report reveals that in May 2023, TI sharply lowered its chip prices in China to reduce inventory and gain market share, with a particular focus on power management and signal chain chips.

According to sources cited by EE Times China, TI’s pricing strategy involves offering prices 5% to 10% lower than domestic manufacturers, even if it means quoting below their cost.

It is worth noting that Texas Instruments, a leading global automotive chip supplier alongside Infineon, NXP, and Renesas, plays a key role in China’s automotive-grade chip market, as noted by ijiwei. Therefore, it would be difficult to completely eliminate the country’s reliance on TI even if restrictions were imposed, the report adds.

In December, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded TI up to $1.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding to support three new 300mm semiconductor wafer fabs under construction in Texas and Utah.

A previous report from Global Times revealed that China’s Ministry of Commerce has received complaints from domestic companies regarding U.S. firms benefiting from subsidies under the U.S. CHIPS Act and exporting mature-node chips to China at low prices.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Commerce stated that it would conduct these investigations in compliance with WTO rules, as the report noted.

Read more

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(Photo credit: Texas Instruments)