The United States and the European Union agreed to continue their collaboration on identifying disruptions in the semiconductor sector for three years, with a focus on mainstream "legacy" chips from China.

On Friday, the two sides issued a joint statement on the findings of their two-day Trade and Technology Council meeting.

It stated that the two partners would share market intelligence concerning "non-market" policies and practices that they claim prevail in China, as well as consult on planned action to address supply chain inefficiencies globally.

Margrethe Vestager, Vice President of the European Commission and in charge of EU technology policy, claimed that the EU and the US were taking "the following steps" in regards to legacy chips.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a news conference that China was producing over 60% of legacy chips used in cars, household appliances, and medical equipment, and was going to continue to perform in the upcoming years.

"And we know that the Chinese government is heavily subsidizing that industry, which could result in significant market distortion. That's why we're looking at it," she explained.

The Commerce Department has already initiated a poll to examine market distortion, she added, and the EU will do a similar exercise soon, with the two expected to share their findings.

The two partners have also agreed to collaborate on research to identify alternatives to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in chips. The "forever chemicals" are difficult to break down, and studies have shown that they can be harmful to humans.