Joe Biden urged Congress on Monday to pass “as soon as possible” a law that grants 52,000 million dollars to support the production of semiconductors in the United States.
“America invented semiconductors but, over time, we let the production go abroad,” lamented the US president in front of economic and union officials.
For him, it is “imperative”, for economic reasons but also of national security, that the United States re-manufacture these electronic chips present in many objects of daily life.
Shortage
Demand for these chips has skyrocketed during the pandemic, leading to shortages exacerbated by factory closures in China due to a resurgence of Covid.
In this context, “Congress must adopt this law as soon as possible,” said the Democratic president.
It is “vital” that it be presented to the president for ratification “as early as this week,” added Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“America’s reliance on a small number of factories abroad is dangerous,” said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Republicans and Democrats-elect agree with the finding, but have been struggling for months to agree on a final text.
“Chips-plus”
In February, the House adopted broader language aimed at strengthening US industry against competition from Asia, particularly in the semiconductor sector.
The Senate passed a similar bill in March. But the two assemblies of Congress did not agree on a common text.
The Senate recently began work on a text limited solely to the semiconductor issue, called “Chips-plus.” He took an important procedural step last week.
Semiconductors are ubiquitous in everyday life. Manufactured mainly in Asia, they are essential for the manufacture of cars, smartphones or even medical equipment and vacuum cleaners.
With the pandemic, manufacturers have seen these chip stocks melt away at an alarming rate. The Biden administration claims that this shortage has a direct effect on runaway inflation in the United States.
Source: BFM TV
