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US TECH EXPORTS FELL FROM 2000 TO 2002, GROUP SAYS

WASHINGTON, DC - US technology exports fell 26% from 2000 to 2002, a $67 billion decline during a period that also saw China replace Japan and Mexico as the largest supplier of electronics to the United States, according to the American Electronics Association. High-tech goods exported from the US fell from $223 billion in 2000 to $166 billion in 2003. The findings echoed a report released by the same Washington, D.C.-based trade association earlier this year that noted a 10% drop in US-based high-tech employment. Imports from China increased by $54 billion, or 32% during the two-year period, surpassing imports from both Japan and Mexico in 2002. US technology services sold abroad through affiliates totaled $95 billion in 2000, compared to $37 billion sold in the US through foreign subsidiaries, resulting in a $58 billion surplus.

US, PAKISTAN SIGN COOPERATIVE TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC - US Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar have signed a Science and Technology Cooperation that establishes a legal framework that will facilitate bilateral cooperation in science, technology, engineering andEducation. The note adds that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) provided $2 million for the agreement in order to facilitate partnerships among government agencies, universities, public and private research centers, and members of the private sector.

SAN DIEGO-BASED IDEC AQUIRES BIOTECH FIRM

SAN DIEGO - IDEC Pharmaceuticals Inc. has said it will acquire Biogen Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology firm. The new company will be called Biogen IDEC Inc. IDEC shareholders will reportedly own 50.5% of the new company, and Biogen shareholders would own 49.5%, said sources close to the deal. IDEC focuses on the development of cancer drugs, while Biogen sells the multiple sclerosis treatment Avonex and psoriasis medicine Amevive.

KOREAN SEMICONDUCTORS SUBSIDIZED, COMMERCE SAYS

WASHINGTON, DC -- Semiconductors imported from South Korea to the US were subsidized, the Commerce Department has ruled. In a recent final affirmative determination the department calculated the net subsidy rates for the dynamic random access memory semiconductors (DRAMS) ranged up to 44.71%. Imposition of countervailing duties to offset unfair subsidies requires final affirmative determinations from both the Commerce Department that subsidies were paid and from the US International Trade Commission (USITC) that the imports injured or threatened US industry. The final USITC determination is expected by August. The department calculated a 44.71% net subsidy rate for Hynix Semiconductors Inc. and assigned the same rate for all other companies with the exception of Samsung Electronic Co. Ltd., whose net subsidy rate was considered marginal. As a result, the investigation into Samsung imports will be ended. A subsidy is a grant conferred on a producer by a government. Commerce took action against Korea in November 2002 after a US producer of DRAMs had filed a complaint asserting that South Korean DRAM manufacturers received loan subsidies and other government support worth thousands of millions of dollars, according to press reports. South Korea denied it had paid subsidies to DRAM manufacturers and threatened to take its case to the World Trade Organization if the US and the European Union, which launched its own investigation, impose countervailing duties on Korean memory chip imports. From January through June, 2002, US imports from Korea were valued at $610.9 million for individual DRAMS, $726.1 million for DRAM memory modules and $13.3 million for DRAM wafers.

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