(Washington) Joe Biden on Monday urged Congress to pass “as soon as possible” a law that provides $ 52 billion to support the production of semiconductors in the United States.
Posted at 6:28 p.m.
“America invented semiconductors but, over time, we let production go abroad,” lamented the American 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 manufacture again these electronic chips present in many objects of daily life.
Demand for these chips has exploded during the pandemic, causing a shortage exacerbated by the closure of factories in China due to a resurgence of COVID-19.
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,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo added.
“America’s reliance on a small number of factories overseas is dangerous,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also said.
Elected Republicans and Democrats agree on the finding but have been struggling for months to agree on a final text.
In February, the Chamber adopted a broader text intended to strengthen US industry in the face of competition from Asia, particularly in the semiconductor sector.
A comparable bill was passed by the Senate in March. But the two assemblies of Congress did not agree on a common text.
The Senate recently started working on a text limited only to the issue of semiconductors, called “Chips-plus”. He took an important procedural step last week.
Semiconductors are ubiquitous in everyday life. Mainly made in Asia, they are indispensable for the manufacture of cars, smart phones or even medical equipment and vacuum cleaners.
With the pandemic, manufacturers have seen these reserves of chips melt to an alarming level. The Biden administration assures that this shortage has a direct effect on runaway inflation in the United States.