As US–China tech tensions deepen, a senior US official said the Trump Administration is pushing to embed advanced tracking features into semiconductors to prevent Nvidia and other US-made chips from being diverted to China.

During a keynote address at the Ketagalan Forum in Taipei on August 5, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that he had contemplated enabling the UK to compete with Taiwan in semiconductor manufacturing as early as 2019. While in office, he explored the costs of building a wafer fab in the UK but decided against it due to Taiwan's superior technological advancements.

The European Union and the US reached a provisional trade agreement just before the new round of tariffs took effect on August 1, 2025, according to sources familiar with the matter. The two sides are expected to officially announce the deal and release a joint political declaration in the coming days.

As AI infrastructure continues to reshape global supply chains, the Open Compute Project (OCP) APAC Summit held in Taipei on August 5, 2025, highlighted the Asia-Pacific region's expanding role in the development and deployment of open hardware technologies. Speakers from the OCP Foundation and Taiwan's tech industry emphasized the region's growing contributions to AI data center infrastructure and its significance in future technology roadmaps.

Taiwan's IC OSAT supply chain was previously expected to benefit from US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) restrictions on Chinese semiconductor firms. The BIS's semiconductor whitelist, which excluded major Chinese OSATs such as JCET and Tongfu Microelectronics, had opened the door for Chinese IC design firms to shift orders to whitelisted vendors, with Taiwanese firms listed and poised to gain.

The US-China trade war, launched during US President Donald Trump's first term, continues to disrupt global supply chains and reshape Taiwan's export landscape. Concerns about overdependence on China and Hong Kong have prompted Taiwan to aggressively pursue export market diversification. Since the trade conflict began, exports to China have steadily declined, while shipments to the US have risen for six consecutive years.

On August 4, Onsemi reported second quarter 2025 revenue of US$1.47 billion, marking a 15% year-over-year decline, as weakness in the industrial sector and margin pressure weighed on results. Gross margin dropped to 37.6% from 45.3% a year earlier, while operating margin narrowed to 17.3% from 27.5%.

Onsemi plans to eliminate approximately 5% of its 2025 revenue through the exit of legacy and non-core products, aligning with its Fab Right strategy and broader transformation efforts. The company aims to boost long-term profitability by focusing on high-value, high-margin technologies and operational efficiency.

On August 4, 2025, Sanan Optoelectronics partnered with Malaysia's Inari Amertron Berhad to acquire Dutch LED company Lumileds for US$239 million, expanding Sanan's presence in the high-end LED market.

Reports have emerged that TSMC's advanced packaging technology, CoWoS, is operating at only 60% capacity utilization. Such a supply-demand mismatch has confused the supply chain.

Onsemi flagged weak industrial and automotive demand in the second quarter of 2025 but expects modest growth ahead, with AI-related sales providing a boost. CEO Hassane El-Khoury said the company is leveraging its flexible manufacturing footprint to navigate tariff risks while preparing for a broader market recovery.