I do expect to get downvoted by US haters.
The main thing that allowed American innovation is the fact that they are not under threat of a land or sea invasion due to the geography. This always gave them an advantage of being able to think long-term without being worried about war destroying their efforts.
Don't get me wrong - I am an immigrant to the U.S., and the U.S. is a great and successful country with many opportunities for all. The three things you mention certainly play a role in its success, but they're not the only factors by far.
How that makes you feel about the US — or about thievery's morality and place in history — is an exercise left to the reader. But I think that's a fair read of the history.
I'm not a US hater at all, I think it's an amazing country, but it's also a great example of how to build one.
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2018/07/30/ip_thef...
If Chinese didn't copy things like STM32, many businesses would be bankrupt now.
The problem is that often manufacturers only care about big customers and view SMEs as nuisance, that's where China comes in.
Also I'm in favour of not calling it shortages, but "price gauges bonanza" as that is what it is essentially. Have you tried to buy a real fpga recently? Yes, many types are available, but the prices....
It is not really that surprising, if the only thing that kept prices in check was cheap competition from China and that competition was practically killed off by their own gov. Why would remaining companies not monetise this new market conditions by increasing prices?
There is another aspect - Military Indistrial Complexes waking up around the world - and those under sanctions especially, buy MCUs and other parts from regular channels creating those shortages. For instance STM32F7 and H7 that are well used for control boards in drones and other military equipment are still unobtainium and unfortunately Chinese have not managed to clone them yet.
> Why would remaining companies not monetise this new market conditions by increasing prices?
Some product prices indeed are going up.