The Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) has released a report on semiconductor policy trends among major countries for H1 2026. The US is tying its 232 tariff to domestic investment, Japan has confirmed a ¥250 billion government equity stake in Rapidus, and the EU has broadened Chips Act 2.0 to cover the entire value chain. China is pursuing full industrial self-sufficiency under its 15th Five-Year Plan, while Taiwan is advancing a public 12-inch pilot production line.
What battery equipment makers should watch is the direction in which support is expanding. Every country is broadening its support scope from finished-product production facilities to equipment, materials, components, and back-end processes. The EU’s ESTI (European Semiconductor Technology Initiative) has expanded its coverage from wafer fabrication to design, materials, equipment, PCBs, and advanced packaging, while US CHIPS support is shifting from large fabs toward supply-chain bottleneck areas.
This shift playing out in the semiconductor industry may well carry over to the battery equipment industry. It can be read as a signal that countries are moving their focus from competing to attract finished-cell factories toward competing on localizing equipment, materials, and components.