Biden holds up the wafer: America will not sit idly by while China dominates semiconductors
"I keep saying that China and the world are not waiting, and there is no reason for the United States to wait," Mr. Biden urged during a press briefing. "The United States is now focusing its capital on semiconductors, batteries -- that's what others are doing, and that's what we have to do."
Joe Biden, the US president, played up the sense of urgency at the meeting, declaring that "China wants to dominate the semiconductor supply chain" and that the US could not afford to sit idly by. Biden also linked his much-cherished $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan to alleviating a severe semiconductor shortage. "This is infrastructure, too," he insists, holding out a wafer.
Playing up the China threat theory while not forgetting to sell its "2 trillion yuan infrastructure" concept
TSMC Chairman Liu De-yin and Samsung foundry chief Chui Shi-ying are among the Asian semiconductor giants the U.S. is courting.
On April 12, local time, the White House called on the leaders of 19 large companies including Ford, Intel and Google to hold an online conference on semiconductors to discuss how to solve the current chip shortage in the United States. As we all know, "core loss" gradually became a global problem after the start of COVID-19.
Biden speaks at the conference.
production to Asia and focusing on research and development at home, the supply side is now being strangled. Biden stressed at the conference that his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan would be "focused on building semiconductor manufacturing [capacity] in the United States."
"This is infrastructure, too," Biden said, holding out a wafer. "These chips, these wafers -- batteries, broadband -- that's infrastructure. That's infrastructure."
Biden noted that he received a letter today from 23 senators and 42 members of the House of Representatives in support of the CHIPS for America Program. "If we lose these highly skilled jobs and expertise to China, the losses will be irreparable," the letter said. The letter also highlighted "the risks associated with the U.S. reliance on strategic competitors for sophisticated semiconductors."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden quoted directly from the letter at the meeting, declaring that "China plans to dominate the semiconductor supply chain and is investing significant amounts of money to get it done." The letter also urged Biden to work with Allies to build his own chip industry and to "outscale China's aggressive steps."
According to NPR, Biden's infrastructure plan has yet to win support from any Republican in either chamber, and many on the other side of the aisle have criticized it as "too broad and limited to traditional infrastructure projects like roads and Bridges."
But Biden remained confident, noting that domestic chip manufacturing is a "bipartisan issue." "This is an issue that has broad support in the United States Senate," Mr Biden said.
U.S. semiconductor manufacturing shrank sharply
The meeting was not only attended by Biden, but also hosted by White House National Security Adviser Sullivan, National Economic Council Chair Brian Deese and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
In terms of enterprises, senior representatives of auto companies such as Ford, General Motors and Stellantis Group, as well as decision-makers of Intel, Alphabet, AT&T and HP, which are the "major core users", attended the meeting.
On the supply side, TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin was in attendance. In a briefing ahead of the summit, he said the shortage had nothing to do with the location of the manufacturers, but was mainly due to the increase in supply chain inventories caused by the outbreak, trade tensions between China and the United States, and the acceleration of the digital transformation caused by the epidemic.
Delegates at the meeting welcomed the White House's attention to the "lack of core" issue. "This is a great opportunity for us to discuss a long-term solution to this problem," John Neuffer, president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said at the conference.
Boston Group (BCG) and SIA report on semiconductor manufacturing in the United States
"In 1990, the US made 37 per cent of the world's semiconductors; today it makes 12 per cent," he says. "Supply chain vulnerability was Bold Relief last year."
Sullivan, the national security adviser, said the chip issue "constitutes a breach in U.S. national security."
Biden's deputy national security adviser said the Biden administration views "lack of core" as a national security issue. "For the vast majority of emerging industries, semiconductors are the top priority, as are pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and so on. The problem is that today, almost 100 per cent of the manufacturing end is in East Asia and 90 per cent is made by one company, which is a serious loophole."
The CFO of Nvidia, the largest U.S. chip supplier by market capitalization, told the conference that "supply-side issues will continue for several months. Demand for chips will continue to outstrip supply this year."
Intel was called in to make wafers
At the end of the roughly three-hour meeting, the White House said, "Participants emphasized improving transparency in the semiconductor supply chain to help alleviate the current shortage. They also believe it is important to improve demand forecasting throughout the supply chain to help mitigate future challenges. There was also a proposal to build 'additional semiconductor manufacturing capacity' to address the supply shortfall."
Speaking after the meeting, Pat Gelsinger, Intel's chief executive, also said the company was in talks to make chips for carmakers to help ease a supply shortage that has shut down car factories. Last month, Intel announced it would spend $20 billion to build two new chip plants in Ocurtillo, Ariz. At the time, Intel mentioned that Intel would act as a 'foundry,' or manufacturing partner, for companies that focused on semiconductor design but needed a company to actually make the chips.
Mr. Gelsinger also mentioned the desire for American companies to account for one-third of semiconductors produced in the United States. "I believe our goal should be that American companies should have one-third of their semiconductor production in the United States," he said.