During President Biden hosted a virtual meeting with leaders of some of the country’s biggest companies impacted by a global shortage of semiconductors, on April 12, he noted that the U.S must find a way to “strengthen our domestic semiconductor industry and secure the American supply chain.”
This meeting and the President’s urgency on this matter is commendable. However, in an article published by Voice of America White House Bureau Cheif Steve Herman, Roslyn Layton made it clear that the short-term issue of a shortage of semiconductors for the automotive industry should not be confused with the larger, existential problem that the United States does not produce enough of its own chips.
Dr. Layton went on to say that there should also be greater scrutiny of American companies selling high-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment to Chinese military-linked fabricators, which “violates U.S. and international law.” The United States “has accelerated its decline in manufacturing and advanced technology with weak enforcement of export controls. This is something that the next leader of Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce needs to tighten,” she explained.
To understand more about the national and economic importance of the semiconductor industry, read Dr. Layton’s newest paper here. In addition, read more about the role that the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce plays in ensuring our critical supply chains are secure and competitive, here.