The Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) hosted a visiting delegation of U.S. congressional staff on April 9 for an in-depth exchange on key economic security and technology policy issues. The delegation included bipartisan policy staff from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, covering portfolios in economic policy, defense, foreign affairs, and financial services.

Discussions focused on semiconductor supply chain security, energy resilience, artificial intelligence (AI) governance, information manipulation, and the development of the drone industry. Both sides also explored avenues for future policy coordination.

During the meeting, DSET’s Economic Security Program responded to inquiries by noting that China’s continued expansion of semiconductor production capacity, combined with the use of advanced packaging techniques to stack mature-node chips in ways that may circumvent existing export controls, has exposed structural gaps in the current regulatory framework. Forthcoming DSET research highlights that critical supply chain segments—including key materials such as ABF substrates—should be incorporated into a more comprehensive control framework to strengthen overall supply chain security.

With respect to mature-node semiconductors, DSET further recommended the adoption of more systematic policy tools, including dynamic updates to the Entity List and the integration of market-based mechanisms to mitigate the penetration of high-risk supply sources into global supply chains.

On supply chain restructuring, both sides discussed the challenges of de-risking the drone industry from China. DSET’s National Security Program noted that Taiwan’s drone manufacturing ecosystem remains dependent on critical components sourced from China, including motor magnets and battery cells. In addition, flight control systems and imaging equipment continue to represent supply bottlenecks, underscoring the need for coordinated international efforts and targeted industrial policy support to build trusted supply chains.

On energy security, Dr. Tsai-Ying Lu, Director of the Energy Resilience Program at DSET, emphasized that a stable and resilient energy supply is a foundational requirement for sustaining Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. She noted that Taiwan has, in recent years, enhanced system flexibility through diversification of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import sources and adjustments to its power generation mix. DSET continues to monitor international policy developments to advance cooperation in the field of energy security.

In the domain of democratic governance and technology risks, DSET’s Democracy Governance Program highlighted that the rapid advancement of generative AI has increased both the scale and sophistication of information manipulation, posing new challenges to existing governance frameworks. A recent DSET report further identifies risks associated with China’s “authoritarian gaze,” noting that user interactions with certain AI services may expose data to cross-border collection and utilization, raising concerns related to data governance and national security.

The two sides also exchanged views on the resilience of Taiwan’s critical infrastructure and cybersecurity. Participants noted that Taiwan faces a high volume of cyberattacks on a daily basis, and that in addition to software-based defenses, the security of underlying hardware and critical components must be integrated into a comprehensive protection architecture.

The visiting delegation included senior staff from key congressional offices across both parties and chambers, including:

  • Eli Weiner (Economic Policy Advisor to Senator Michael Bennet)
  • Rey Benitez (Chief of Staff to Senator Jon Ossoff)
  • Wesley Davis (Legislative Director to Senator John Kennedy)
  • Leighton Huch (Deputy Executive Director, New Democrat Coalition)
  • Sarah Jacobs (Legislative Director to Representative Madeleine Dean)
  • Courtney Kaufman (Legislative Director to Representative Mike Lawler)
  • Danny Reeves (Deputy Staff Director, House Financial Services Committee, under Chairman French Hill)
  • Chandler Smith (Legislative Director to Representative Guy Reschenthaler)
  • Elya Taichman (Legislative Director to Representative Eugene Vindman)
  • Nick Urbin (Legislative Director to Representative Ryan Mackenzie)