CHIPS Act One-Year Anniversary: August 9 marked the one-year milestone of President Biden signing the CHIPS and Science Act to restore American semiconductor manufacturing, yet major challenges lie ahead. In a new video, Retired Major General James ‘Spider’ Marks explains problems with the U.S. government turning a blind eye to legacy chips as China accelerates efforts to dominate the market. He noted that while the Biden Administration “understand[s] that we need to near-shore, friend-shore, and onshore the production of these semiconductor capabilities… We need an all-of-government approach to every chip matters.” Learn more at EveryChipMatters.com.
Is Your State 1 Of The 46 That Purchased $285 Million In PRC-Owned Tech? CTT’s 2023 research of all 50 states found that states cumulatively awarded a total of more than $285 million in contracts for risky Lenovo and Lexmark tech already restricted by the federal government. The research project began in 2020 following a U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General report, which revealed continued use of tech from these dangerous Chinese government-owned companies. Check out our interactive map to see what your state spent here and our state momentum map that shows the 9 states that have enacted laws to prohibit these purchases. Of the data collected, there are several alarming stats on departments purchasing PRC-tech:
- 13 state legislatures
- 10 state police forces
- 6 military-connected agencies
- Several departments with election oversight
Scratching The Surface On Legacy Chips: At a recent American Enterprise Institute (AEI) event, Commerce Secretary Raimondo acknowledged China’s commitment to legacy chips: “The amount of money that China is pouring into subsidizing what will be an excess capacity of mature chips and legacy chips, that’s a problem that we need to be thinking about and working with our allies to get ahead of.” Subsequent reporting by Bloomberg indicates that the U.S. and Europe are now “growing alarmed by China’s rush into legacy chips.” This is a positive development, but will action come soon enough?
Steve Coonen – Reforming Our Flawed Export Control System: Former Pentagon Chinese tech advisor Steve Coonen expanded on his Willful Blindness report with a summer series of columns for CTT on topics like dual-use technologies, end-use checks, export controls, and more. Coonen writes, “BIS has exercised a willful blindness in believing both American companies and Chinese entities claims that the technologies in question will be used strictly for civilian purposes.” Check out his Willful Blindness report for eight recommendations to strengthen export controls to defend sensitive tech.