The United States has announced a preliminary agreement with the giant Taiwan chip company TSMC to build a third semiconductor factory in Arizona.
“Semiconductors – those tiny chips smaller than the tip of your finger – power everything from smartphones to cars to satellites and weapons systems,” said President Joe Biden in a statement. “America invented these chips, but over time, we went from producing nearly 40% of the world’s capacity to close to 10%, and none of the most advanced chips, exposing us to significant economic and national security vulnerabilities. I was determined to turn that around, and thanks to my CHIPS and Science Act – a key part of my Investing in America agenda – semiconductor manufacturing and jobs are making a comeback.”
The COVID-19 crisis exposed alarming vulnerabilities in the U.S. chip supply chain, which domestic semiconductor manufacturing will ameliorate.
Another key issue surrounding semiconductors was recently discussed at the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council meeting in April in Leuven, Belgium: export controls aimed at protecting technologies that have clear national security implications. Over the past two years, the U.S. has imposed such controls, which restrict companies from selling chips and other advanced computing equipment that could have military applications.
The People’s Republic of China has objected to such export controls and has tried to frustrate and evade them. At a press briefing after the Trade and Technology Council meeting in Leuven, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spoke of the need for vigilance and constant dialogue with partners to counter the actions of the PRC:
“The Chinese wake up every day trying to figure out how to do an end run around our export controls so that they and potentially their military can access our most sophisticated technology, including chips, which means we have to wake up every day just as motivated to protect the citizens of our country, and we do that in collaboration with our partners, in this case the Europeans…There is no end game. It is a constant work.”
At the same briefing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted over the past three years, there has been an increasing alignment between the U.S. and the European Union on the issues relating to advanced technology. “And,” he said, “when the United States and the European Union are aligned, when we’re working in common purpose, it’s a very powerful force.”
Strengthening and Protecting the U.S. Chip Industry
The United States has announced a preliminary agreement with the giant Taiwan chip company TSMC to build a third semiconductor factory in Arizona.
