EU forced to exempt banned Chinese chipmaker after auto industry warns of supply crisis

The European Commission is preparing to propose a temporary exemption for a Chinese semiconductor manufacturer, likely Yangjie Electronics, from the EU's 20th Russia sanctions package, following warni... Read original →

The EU’s potential exemption for Yangjie Electronics reveals a critical vulnerability in its power semiconductor supply chain. Technically, automotive MOSFETs and IGBTs rely on mature-node 12-inch wafers—a segment disrupted when Nexperia’s Dutch-controlled operations redirected output to China. Compliance-wise, automakers now face untenable trade-offs between sanctions adherence and production continuity, with inventory buffers exhausted. Competitively, while TSMC and NVIDIA focus on advanced nodes, Infineon and STMicroelectronics will likely accelerate SiC and high-voltage device capacity to fill the gap. Over the next 12–24 months, the EU may push 'friend-shoring,' but near-term dependence on Chinese mature-node chips remains unavoidable—potentially triggering tighter Chinese export controls on materials and equipment as strategic leverage.