Thailand is poised to benefit from a move by the United States to diversify semiconductor production, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Speaking in Bangkok on Wednesday, Raimondo highlighted American firms’ readiness to ramp up investments in the Southeast Asian nation. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration has been keen on expanding the semicondutor sector to kickstart the sluggish economy.
Speaking at an event in Bangkok Raimondo said “Production of semiconductors is dangerously concentrated in one or two countries in the world,” outlining that the U.S. would look to push additional investments into countries that are part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) as it seeks to diversify production. IPEF, a US-led initiative that aims to strengthen economic partnership among participating countries to enhance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
“So we’re all in this together. It benefits everyone, the United States, Thailand, all the IPEF countries, to diversify the supply chain of semiconductor production,” said Raimondo
Raimondo also said “As U.S. multinationals look to diversify their supply chains, Thailand is increasingly a place that comes to the top of the list,”.
In 2022, the U.S. passed the landmark “Chips and Science” law that provides $52.7 billion for U.S. semiconductor production, research and workforce development.
According to a 2023 Siam Commercial Bank report, Thailand’s semiconductor industry, dominated by firms from the U.S, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands, and is largely focused around the back-end process, putting the country at par with Vietnam and India.
The report also said that “The shifting dynamics of the global manufacturing supply chain, influenced by geopolitical conflicts, have attracted semiconductor production facility relocations to Thailand,”.
