News Article
Multilateral agreement brings duties on multichips to zero
ESIA’s President and CEO of STMicroelectronics Carlo Bozotti states that “the European semiconductor industry welcomes the multilteral agreement and applauds the key role the European authorities have played in making it a reality. Creating a zero tariff environment for multichip ICs is an important step towards ensuring that legislation keeps pace with technology and ensuring free trade for semiconductor products.”
ESIA’s President and CEO of STMicroelectronics Carlo Bozotti states that “the European semiconductor industry welcomes the multilteral agreement and applauds the key role the European authorities have played in making it a reality. Creating a zero tariff environment for multichip ICs is an important step towards ensuring that legislation keeps pace with technology and ensuring free trade for semiconductor products.”
The Agreement on multichip ICs signed by the Governments / Authorities of the EU, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and the US - the main semiconductor trading regions – will enter into force in April. Multichip ICs combine two or more chips within the same package, allowing higher performance while using less space than ever before. They provide the enabling technology which makes the production and future development of products such as mobile phones, DVDs, MP3s, camcorders and all types of multimedia products, possible.
They are equally essential for example as sensors for car dashboards, for wireline communication, memory chips and power management. For the semiconductor industry, the elimination of duty rates for multichip ICs is an important factor for future growth. In 2005, worldwide multichip IC revenues of European-based semiconductor companies already exceeded the ¤2bn mark. Multichip ICs form an increasingly important part of company portfolios and account for an overall average of around 10% of total revenues. While this figure refers to European-based companies, it reflects that multichip ICs are already today a significant part of a worldwide semiconductor market valued at ¤183bn in 2005. Market analysts speak of a doubling of the market by 2008 and of a compound annual growth rate of 25%, underlining the importance of this agreement for the semiconductor industry.
Commenting on the two years it has taken to reach this goal, Bozotti adds that “this is a great example of how Governments and industry can work together constructively on a world wide level and it highlights the importance and uniqueness of an organization such as the World Semiconductor Council.”
The Agreement on multichip ICs signed by the Governments / Authorities of the EU, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and the US - the main semiconductor trading regions – will enter into force in April. Multichip ICs combine two or more chips within the same package, allowing higher performance while using less space than ever before. They provide the enabling technology which makes the production and future development of products such as mobile phones, DVDs, MP3s, camcorders and all types of multimedia products, possible.
They are equally essential for example as sensors for car dashboards, for wireline communication, memory chips and power management. For the semiconductor industry, the elimination of duty rates for multichip ICs is an important factor for future growth. In 2005, worldwide multichip IC revenues of European-based semiconductor companies already exceeded the ¤2bn mark. Multichip ICs form an increasingly important part of company portfolios and account for an overall average of around 10% of total revenues. While this figure refers to European-based companies, it reflects that multichip ICs are already today a significant part of a worldwide semiconductor market valued at ¤183bn in 2005. Market analysts speak of a doubling of the market by 2008 and of a compound annual growth rate of 25%, underlining the importance of this agreement for the semiconductor industry.
Commenting on the two years it has taken to reach this goal, Bozotti adds that “this is a great example of how Governments and industry can work together constructively on a world wide level and it highlights the importance and uniqueness of an organization such as the World Semiconductor Council.”
