Biden administration taking steps to address chip shortages

[midian182]

What just happened? We already know that semiconductor shortages are having an impact on multiple industries, and the situation is expected to get worse. It’s become such an issue that the Biden administration is stepping in to try and address the problem.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the Biden team is “currently identifying potential chokepoints in the supply chain and actively working alongside key stakeholders in industry and with our trading partners to do more now.”

President Biden is expected to sign an executive order in the coming weeks directing a government-wide supply chain review for critical goods, including chips, writes Bloomberg. The 100-day review will be led by the National Economic Council and National Security Council. Its focus will be on semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging, critical minerals, medical supplies, and high-capacity batteries, such as those used by electric vehicles.

The government intervention has been prompted by the problems chip shortages are causing in the automotive industry. Companies including Ford, GM, VW, and many more have all reduced or say they may reduce their output due to semiconductor supply issues. General Motors said it could wipe $2 billion from 2021 profit, while Ford has cut back manufacture of its popular F-150 pickup trucks at plants in Michigan and Missouri.

The White House announcement follows a January 19 letter sent to Biden adviser Brian Deese from the United Auto Workers union that asked the administration to consider “urging major silicon wafer foundries to ramp up production of automotive grade wafers.”

On Thursday, CEOs of tech giants including Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm signed a letter urging Biden to increase support for domestic chip production. It notes that the United States’ share of global chip manufacturing has dropped to 12 percent from 37 percent in 1990. The demands include “substantial funding for incentives for semiconductor manufacturing, in the form of grants and/or tax credits.”

While the review is concentrating on easing problems in the automotive industry, it could ultimately help address shortages elsewhere, including PC hardware and consoles.

Image credit: Macro photo

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https://www.techspot.com/news/88614-biden-administration-taking-steps-address-chip-shortages.html

 

[Shadowboxer]

Giving incentives is not going to resolve the current shortage unless the shortage lasts years as it’s not quick and easy to just set up a fabrication plant. But it certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing to do.

 

[Ludak021]

Yes, free money for companies making lots of money (save for GM, it's broke) will solve all the problems and will bring cheap Asian labor to US to work for $5 a day in US instead in Asia.
Well, money, they will print and give, that's what they do...

 

[QuantumPhysics]

You people aren't patient enough to wait out the scalpers and make them sit on losses for so long that they are forced to sell their cards.

It would have taken just 2 months to push them past their return dates.

Same goes for PS5 and Xbox.

The only solution: stand on line, stalk Microcenter/Walmart and get one the moment the shipment drops.

Otherwise, you have nothing.

 

[punctualturn]

Will it help us find an Ampere card?

Seriously?

Kissing Nvidia behind, even after what they did to Steve?????

I just started visiting this site, because Steve's videos are not biased at all and gave me the impression that I would find unbias articles, but you, whoever you are, are acting like the paid shill at LTT.

 

[antiproduct]

How about passing some laws against scalping? Seriously, those jerks just syphon off a large chunk of the supply and mess it all up for everyone.

 

[punctualturn]

How about passing some laws against scalping? Seriously, those jerks just syphon off a large chunk of the supply and mess it all up for everyone.

Another one that wants to give up your rights via laws just because it cannot play the game....

 

[Uncle Al]

Yawn .... another example of Govt. involving itself where it can have little to no positive impact ...

 

[fps4ever]

You can't write an EO order or sign I promise notes too all of the sudden come up with millions more needed chips and materials...wtf?

 

[Dimitriid]

Great, see it translate to "The government will give unprecedented tax breaks to rich corporations so crypto miners continue to gobble up everything, but now it's USA BASED produced gpus and other parts they're gobbling up!"

 

[DZillaXx]

Honestly would be best for there to be less crappy Chevys around for dealers to trick customers into buying. Nearly everything they make is dead last or near dead last compared to other brands to terms of features/performance/build quality. I've seen more Chevy equinox's turn people upside down on a loan, when it breaks soon after the factory warranty is up, than anyone should ever see. That Ecotec 2.4 was even worse than Chryslers old 2.7l.

 

[brucek]

If there are any fabs on idle due to government regulations of questionable value, then of course those regulations should be reviewed. Unfortunately I don't think that's the case. There may be some tariffs that should be looked at.

If as I suspect there are none on idle, and the request from the auto workers boils down to some other paying customer should lose their reservation after auto companies declined to make one themselves, that sounds less noble and more self-serving at the expense of others.

 

[BadThad]

Leave it to Biden and the current ineptocracy to waste taxpayer money with their worthless investigation. THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO! Intel and that group has the right idea, invest in fabs in America and support building new business via tax breaks or whatever. Anything else is a complete waste of time, the situation is what it is.

 

[koblongata]

It's really a sudden demand spike caused by: pandemic + sudden crypto mining craze + earlier than expected smart cars... that caught those fabs off guard, if more countries start throwing in trillions and start building fabs now, there are bound to be some economy-destroying-trade-wars in near future.

 

[paul1122]

How about passing some laws against scalping? Seriously, those jerks just syphon off a large chunk of the supply and mess it all up for everyone.

Because that probably requires making a law the way laws are SUPPOSED to be made, not like these last 3 Presidents going Rogue King Style with Ex. orders.

 

[krisf00]

What the actual hell are you guys talking about. if General Motors is down 2 billion in 1 year... do you know how many people would lose their job? cripes. the government is trying to help before that happens. thats just 1 company. The other companies are just as big. if they all lost 2 billion in 1 year. tons of people lose jobs. go on unemployement and then when there is that many people on unemployement its going to crash the economy even worse.

 

[Ludak021]

What the actual hell are you guys talking about. if General Motors is down 2 billion in 1 year... do you know how many people would lose their job? cripes. the government is trying to help before that happens. thats just 1 company. The other companies are just as big. if they all lost 2 billion in 1 year. tons of people lose jobs. go on unemployement and then when there is that many people on unemployement its going to crash the economy even worse.

Free market.
A lot of companies went under and cumulatively they laid off more people than GM hired. Government seems fine with that. GM is already bankrupt. This will be, to my knowledge, their 3rd bailout by government. What does GM has to show for it?

 

[candle_86]

Free market.
A lot of companies went under and cumulatively they laid off more people than GM hired. Government seems fine with that. GM is already bankrupt. This will be, to my knowledge, their 3rd bailout by government. What does GM has to show for it?

Cars that rust in a year

 

[pelopidas]

The foundries will have a fake broken water pipe and while everyone is evacuated 300000 extra chips will appear.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Only Techspot commentators could find a way to complain about the creation of more jobs, the end of chip shortages, and the solution to the root cause of scalpers. JFC.