By Nicole Goodkind
The relatively quiet cabinet role typically (click here) involves what Raimondo describes as piling “a bunch of CEOs on planes” to fly around the world and promote trade missions and U.S. exports. But in a preview of her Tuesday speech at the Economic Club of Washington where she outlined her agenda and advocate for President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, the former Rhode Island governor said that she had plans to expand her office to focus largely on revitalizing the domestic economy....
...In June, the Senate took a significant step toward alleviating the problem by passing the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which directed $52 billion in federal investments to the Commerce Department for the domestic semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing provisions—and another $10 billion to set up a supply chain resiliency fund and office under Raimondo. The House has yet to pass the bill, and Raimondo will set off on a tour across the country this fall, pushing for action.
While there’s no denying that COVID outbreaks hurt chip manufacturing, the majority of the shortage stems from a lack of preparedness, said Raimondo. “Today's chip supply was determined years ago. We better get this bill passed through the House so we can get to work, because fundamentally, we need more capacity, and the investments we started to make today will determine our capacity two to six years from now,” she said....
...In June, the Senate took a significant step toward alleviating the problem by passing the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which directed $52 billion in federal investments to the Commerce Department for the domestic semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing provisions—and another $10 billion to set up a supply chain resiliency fund and office under Raimondo. The House has yet to pass the bill, and Raimondo will set off on a tour across the country this fall, pushing for action.
While there’s no denying that COVID outbreaks hurt chip manufacturing, the majority of the shortage stems from a lack of preparedness, said Raimondo. “Today's chip supply was determined years ago. We better get this bill passed through the House so we can get to work, because fundamentally, we need more capacity, and the investments we started to make today will determine our capacity two to six years from now,” she said....
China is not a reliable trading partner. It wants to annihilate our democracy. It is becoming aggressive with Tiawan and could destroy the economic structure there.
...China is a net importer of semiconductors, largely from the U.S. The country imported $350 billion in chips in 2020, an increase of 14.6% from 2019. But recent trade tension under President Trump has damaged the long standing relationship and spurred China to begin accelerating and prioritizing its own chip-making programs.
Raimondo also outlined plans to work with Congress to push a bill giving $10 billion to the commerce department to create regional tech hubs or “nodes of innovation around the country outside of Silicon Valley, New York, Austin, and Texas.”
While Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and China invest billions annually in their semiconductor industries, the federal government has been slow to provide R&D funding and funding for domestic production....
One of the ways the USA promotes peace is economic viability that enhances the economy of the USA while doing the same with the other country. If a war breaks out between China and Taiwan, forget about the semiconductor imports by the USA. President's Biden's $3.5 trillion budget would move this along.
None of the funds in the $3.5 trillion budget are minor and unconsequential spending. It is all vital to our future. Hard to believe there are monies that won't benefit the people of West Virginia and Arizona.
October 16, 2021
By Katie Schoolov
As the world grapples with an ongoing chip shortage, (click here) a quiet giant among chipmakers has committed to investing $100 billion over three years to ramp up production.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may not be a household name, but with a market value of over $550 billion, it’s one of the world’s 10 most valuable companies. Now, it’s leveraging its considerable resources to bring the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing back to U.S. soil.
CNBC got an exclusive tour of the $12 billion fabrication plant, or fab, outside Phoenix, Arizona, where TSMC will start making 5-nanometer chips in 2024. The company says it will produce 20,000 wafers each month....
