Semiconductor Industry Welcomes President Biden’s Executive Order on Critical Supply Chains

by Semiconductor Industry Association

WASHINGTON—Feb. 24, 2021—The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today released the following statement from Bob Bruggeworth, president, CEO & director of Qorvo and 2021 SIA board chair, regarding President Biden’s executive order calling for a review of supply chains of critical products, including semiconductors. SIA represents 98 percent of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue.

“We welcome today’s executive order and stand ready to work with the Biden administration to ensure the strength and resilience of America’s semiconductor supply chains. As part of this effort, we urge the president and Congress to invest ambitiously in domestic chip manufacturing and research. Doing so will ensure more of the chips our country needs are produced on U.S. shores, while also promoting sustained U.S. leadership in the technology at the heart of America’s economic strength and job creation, national security, and critical infrastructure.”

The share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the U.S. has decreased from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent today. This decline is largely due to substantial subsidies offered by the governments of our global competitors, which have placed the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage in attracting new construction of semiconductor manufacturing facilities, or “fabs.” Additionally, federal investment in semiconductor research has been flat as a share of GDP, while other governments have invested substantially in research initiatives to strengthen their own semiconductor capabilities.

Recognizing the critical role semiconductors play in America’s future, Congress recently enacted the CHIPS for America Act as part of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The new law calls for incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and investments in chip research, but funding for these provisions must come through congressional appropriations. Last week, SIA and a broad coalition of other business leaders called on President Biden to work with Congress to fund the provisions in the CHIPS for America Act and to enact an investment tax credit to spur greater domestic chip production.

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