President Joe Biden is seeking $37 billion in funding in order to bolster the United States’ semiconductor chip manufacturing capabilities and help address the ongoing microchip supply shortage.
A global shortage of semiconductor chips, which are widely used in the various electric systems in modern-day automobiles, has hampered production output across the industry in recent weeks. GM has been forced to cut production at a number of its facilities due to the supply constraints, including its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas and San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico, among others.
Now the Biden administration is looking to get out in front of the issue. In addition to seeking $37 billion in funding, president Biden also signed a new executive order directing his government to take action to address the global microchip shortage.
“I’m directing senior officials in my administration to work with industrial leaders to identify solutions to the semiconductor shortfall,” Biden said on Wednesday, as quoted by Reuters. “Congress has authorized a bill but they need $37 billion to make sure that we have this capacity. I’ll push for that as well.”
The executive order also includes a 100-day review of supply chains for large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and the rare earth minerals that are used in the batteries. Lawmakers have been pushing the Biden admin to set up stronger domestic manufacturing for the semiconductor chips, the vast majority of which are currently made in Taiwan and China.
GM rival Ford, which has also been hit hard by the microchip shortage, praised the administration’s actions in a statement released this week, saying addressing the issue is “incredibly important for our labor force, our customers and our business that we have a commitment to end this shortage as soon as possible.”
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Comments
Not a fan. I’m not in the market for a new vehicle, neither are about 200 + million or more other Americans, so I don’t see why we should have to subsidize parts for cars we aren’t even buying with our tax dollars. Forget the chips – if you’re going to be tossing around tax revenue like that, give it back to the people who gave it to you in the first place and need it now, not huge multi-national corporations that are perfectly capable of figuring this out on their own.
I just really dislike government constantly pressing it’s thumb on the market. Give us our money back before you start tossing it out to the auto industry in billions yet again.
You don’t like made in China, but you want the “market” to decide. Well it it, and it’s made in China.
Where did I say I don’t like made in China in my comment? Is that really what you picked up here?
So you LIKE made in China?
Not particularly. But that’s irrelevant to my comment. Nice straw man.
C’mon folks can we please stop being political for a second and appreciate a good thing wherever it comes from. This will support American manufacturing and decouple a strategic industry from China’s mercy. If you really a patriotic American common sense says you will support this, but no, you have to continue to be the relentless objector for everything that coming from the otherside that you regard as enemy, do you?
I don’t know how a country go forward or continue to remain stable with a population that politized to its bones and one half of the country is adverse in any case and the prime objective of the new admins is to overturn whatever the last admin did.
Slider,
Couple things. One, how did you reach the conclusion that I was a “relentless objector for everything coming from the other side that I regard as an enemy?” What’s with you guys reading things into my comment that never existed in the first place? This has nothing to do with the person in office or his party. YOU made it about that. I don’t support one admin over the other, politicians mean nothing to me. I simply made a point on tax dollars and their usage.
Disagree with me, fine, but don’t turn what I said into something I didn’t say.
Beyond that, you do make a good point. Any time we can decrease our reliance on China, that’s a good thing, especially when it helps American workers in manufacturing. So I’m 100% on board there.
Here’s where I disagree, and you’d have picked up on this had you actually read and understood my comment instead of jumping to conclusions: I personally don’t think we need the government subsidizing this move on our own behalf. These companies that need and make chips are perfectly capable of making and buying them here, but they chose not to do so.
Tossing $37 billion at them now may kick the can down the road, but it fixes nothing, and even worse, makes me pay for something I’m not even getting back. They’ll just go right back to buying Chinese chips as soon as they can, at prices far lower. THAT’S my only point.
Save your anti-partisan chastisement for a scenario where it’s actually warranted. My concern goes for both parties and ideologies.
The President should slap a tariff on imported chips to make domestic manufacturing more competitive.
Wait, never mind!
Problem is when you have a president that is in bed with China he removes said tariffs as he jumps in bed. Read between the lines “signed a new executive order directing “his” government to take action to address the g͟l͟o͟b͟a͟l͟ ͟m͟i͟c͟r͟o͟c͟h͟i͟p͟ ͟s͟h͟o͟r͟t͟a͟g͟e͟”. (his government, a.k.a. his agenda, not the government of the US population).
Who’s the money going to, an American company or a foreign one (Chinese)? “I’m directing senior officials in my administration to work with i͟n͟d͟u͟s͟t͟r͟i͟a͟l͟ ͟l͟e͟a͟d͟e͟r͟s͟ (China/Taiwan) to identify solutions to the semiconductor shortfall,” Who’s currently trying to take over Taiwan? CHINA. (There it is again, “my” administration).
Chinese firms and investors own a controlling majority in nearly 2,400 U.S. companies.
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www.
foxnews.com/world/how-much-of-the-united-states-does-china-really-own
These include:
automotive
technology
aerospace
energy
mining
machinery
health care
food
entertainment
Biden killed the Keystone pipeline and now supports one for the Taliban. What a disgrace!
People can’t not see politics because it is so hard for americans not too. When everything in the country is binary from a young age. Life is beyond politics of the left(far left and center left) and right (L center R).
The funny thing to me is that if the last president proposes this policy it would fall under “ist” or some “ism.” It is just laughable to me truly how far the nation has fallen. Then again once a nation is feminized logic is out the window and a precipitous fall is next.
What’s ironic is this is an Internet comment made over a cell phone or PC.
Ironic? How is what I said ironic? You might want to brush up on what “irony” actually is.
I swear some people just hop online looking for a fight or to put someone down. Three responses, and not one actually understood a word of what I said. All emotion and belittlement, and no real discussion. The fact that a phone or laptop is made in China has absolutely nothing to do with the point I made.
Why waste taxpayer dollars on a bondogale, when the private sector is already coming out with solutions to the shortage? If higher demand equals higher prices, then other manufacturers will start producing their own chips since it is profitable to do so.
Dangerous to have a supply chain dependent on China, isn’t it?
I want to know when do we stop subsidizing private business that is one thing politicians cry foul about china you could make list that would be as many pages as one of those pork filled bills that we do not make anymore and rely on other countries to produce.elpresidente has been in dc so long that he has watched all the things move offshore and the hedge funds and corporations that made trillions have lined his campaign funds and now tax dollars are needed to bring them back i would worry about pharmaceuticals before chips your not going to die without chips
Big pharma is possibly the most subsidized industry in the U.S. So, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, just that what you said doesn’t really make sense.
Big pharma is not what I was referring to I was referring to most of your generics especially antibiotics which a lot are monopolized by China
Lots of raw components to many pharmaceuticals are sourced from many countries, China being one of them. It terms of manufacturing, bioreactors, etc Id say the U.S. is in decent shape, thanks to subsidization, among other things. China certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on any pharma and you might want to do a quick Google to check those claims.
You realize Asian nations always subsidized their major business ventures until domination of a market, like electronics. Even coveted Benz/BMW get major kickbacks from the German government, American companies are like the last kid that gets picked for dodgeball crying “but we’re Americans “, as long as US business “play fair ” (outside of defense companies) we’ll always get taken our to dry.
Everything you buy is made in China. You can’t even build a toaster without Chinese components.
China could completely shut down the US if they just stopped shipping for 2 weeks. that’s real power.
Americans have enjoyed having their lifestyle subsidized by China for over 30 years. Now, they have become your puppet masters. Bow to their superior strategy and intellect. China has won the war against Covid a year ago, while the US has abdicated the fight, arrogantly ignored the threat and you have now been decimated while China has expanded around the world eating your lunch.
Americans BUILT China, and while it is true 99% of the drooling cattlelike masked masses are too stupid to comprehend just how dire the situation is let alone step back from their greed and misguided social justice turmoil smokescreen long enough to take stock in what’s really going on, you are very well aware how quickly China withers without dumbass Americans buying your lousy toasters.
What’s truly pathetic, Yuanboy is that China’s economic power is implicitly derived from American’s stupidity and naiveté and without that you’d still have a poor mostly agrarian society condemning of Western ideas and advancements instead of one that’s embraced, copied, stolen and been utterly transformed by them. Chy-Naa has generations of traitorous globalist US government operatives and corporate “leaders” to thank for that – the true puppet masters.
The 95% is there to service the 5% who have all the wealth.
The 1 trillion tax cut for the rich was well appreciated in 2017.
Who do you think will pay for those trillions $ stimulus which has mostly gone to corporate interests.
Stop blaming the rich and take accountability. We did this to ourselves. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts benefited me, a small businessperson and I don’t consider myself rich by any means.
As for the overbearing Swamp, we elected these idiots and we let them sell us out and we can remove them.
The elites have been fleecing the masses since the dawn of time, but the US Constitution provides us the means to redress government incompetence and corruption. We have every right to expect our elected officials to govern for all the people and to put America first. Ejection of the current traitorous and ineffective government should be every true American’s top priority, not mindlessly rambling on about the “rights” of 3 year olds to transition to the opposite sex or feeling pressured into apologizing for the sinful baggage some far-left government loons and their thug supporters proclaim is an accompaniment to our skin color or praising a company in bed with Communist China for its “standards of ethical business practices”…
Bill Gates should put a microchip in Biden’s head.
This is just a giveaway to liberal silicon valley companies.
This is not a funding problem. The companies in big tech like chip makers are some of the highest profit companies around.
The trouble is the cost of labor here as others are willing to do it for less.
Add to it Americans what more wages but they refuse to pay the prices it creates.
If you feel you are underpaid that means you need to find a better job and not just get paid more to ask if you want fries with that.
Biden has been in bed with China. Just last year he said we had nothing to fear from them when trump put sanctions on them. Today Joe is talking tough but he is not showing it in his action.
With all the money that has been handed out since the first of the year how long till they dock us all in taxes to get it back?
This is not trashing or supporting anyone. It is just pure economics and this kind of deal can not keep going on.
It’s not cost of labor. It’s cost of energy and regulations. Chipmaking is ridiculously energy intensive and deals with very nasty chemicals. It’s also highly automated after systems have been developed and set up.
The US has a good part of the labor in the world needed to make chips: people with PhDs. I personally know somebody like that who works for a major chip company. She’s settled in the Midwest and has a family, but the company needs her knowledge. The cost in energy and environmental regulations make it far cheaper them to fly her from the US to Taiwan on a regular basis than to move the factory to the US.
dam right about environmental regulations will be modified no worries we will offset it by banning cows because they are destroying the environment with there farts
The biden people obviously doesn’t understand what happened. Chip manufactures slowed down during the middle of 2020 because of the closing of many manufacturing facilities, so they were making chips for laptops and other pc units as the priority. Then auto manufacturing kick in higher gear than expected so there was a shortage. This was all over the news when it started. Don’t need to spend any money investigating it or giving money to try a make them in the US.
I for one would like more items made in the US, however i also understand that if there is one central and effiencient place to make product it should be done there. We can’t make everything but we should make what ever we can.
Sourcing them from multiple vendors from a wide variety of locations would be wise – and yes, that includes the US (maybe the deep south, mid west, whatever…). Relying on fewer, lower cost suppliers means you are just one earthquake, trade sanction, pandemic, or hurricane away from losing a ton of critical parts for months.
And take more control over the supply chain. Build up stock of critical parts. It’s less efficient, but it also means you’ll be selling cars when your competitors can’t build them.
I try so hard to keep any politics off this site. Yet, I know 100% for certain that if this was a GOP president wanting to do this, the comments on here would be switched around. For many, that would make this the best thing since whatever.
Trying to keep this in the middle, shouldn’t this be a great thing? Isn’t this an attempt to stop China and other countries from becoming the leader in this field? Shouldn’t this be a no-brainer decision? Using tax payer money for something like this sounds better than so many other questionable decisions by either party. Use the funds. Create jobs here. Create more income here. Lessen our dependence on foreign parts. Let American become a leader once again. That shouldn’t be Democrat or Republican in any way.
The GOP would have said let the free market fill the void. The problem is on capital expensive things like chip manufacturing no one is going to just build out production lines for an unknown future.
do not worry about keeping politics off this site the big guys picture is shown twice in this post
Easiest way to fix any of this is to lower the tax for corporate america. Or simply go to a fair tax when you buy something in retail you pay a tax on it. Companies and neither should anyone pay income taxes. but the easiest thing would be tell the companies the taxes will be lower in the US. This is what Trump started and its needs to keep going. However I don’t think it will happen as it seems that some on the left believes businesses are evil.
Cuts key stone pipeline, but funds microchips?! What a dud of a prez…
Building factories that produce microchips would create more jobs than multiple keystone pipelines. Also, with every auto company moving to electric, it makes no sense to keep building infrastructure for a dying industry.
Dying industry is not the correct term to use. I would using dying in terms of a natural decline. Just like dying of old age versus getting caped by someone else. The industry is going that way because of the government mandates and unrealistic groups of people. Just like the artificial EV demand that governments are trying to create by attempting to ban ICE vehicle sells.
Finally a smart Biden decision after the constant hit of flops. We need important device production like microchips out of Chinese assembly lines.
I thought anything that benefits America falls under some type of “ist” or “ism” category. Hmmm
Seriously though I have never understood that a country like the USA that cares so much about defense would allow so much system on chips to be made in China. So much of the modern world is reliant on processors and custom chips. No reason why these can’t be made in North America. As the three sovereign nations have a good trade agreement now. Electronics are not going away anytime soon.
The positive is that more Americans and the world too is realizing that depending on a nation that is the anti-thesis to your existence is not the good way to go.
Chips, at least the ones that we care about, aren’t made in China. South Korea and Taiwan are very different from China.
And when you think about it, therein lies a very difficult part of the problem.
GM’s suppliers need to amp up production when and where it’s needed most. And it’s GM’s responsibility to balance supply chain efficiency with supply chain resilience. They decided on the efficiency of fewer, lower cost suppliers. If GM wants to expose their supply chain to the kind of risk that eventually caught up with Sony’s Erricson line of phones, that’s their choice. When they choose wrong, it’s not the taxpayer’s responsibility.
Companies with more supply chain redundancies and more control over their outsourced components deserve to make sales right now. Companies that relied too much on lower cost, far flung suppliers for too much of their components deserve the massive disruptions they are getting .
Well articulated! 100% agree.
Speaking of a lack of microchips, does the term vacuous come to mind?
Yes let the taxpayers pay for car manufacturers to get chips faster wether the taxpayer needs a car or not?
WTF?
Biden made the announcement shortly after admitting he lost the election by 17 million votes. Dominion reps were unavailable for comment.
🤣
37 billion dollars? It is impossible to even comprehend how much money that is. Try this. If you worked 40 hours a week for minimum wage, it would take you 75,000 years to accumulate 1 billion dollars. Government should encourage and facilitate the manufacturing industry to produce anything they can where it is most advantageous to do so (not just cheapest). The best way to do that is for government to just get out of the damn way. Taxes are going nowhere but up when spending is out of control like it is now. What’s another billion or 37 when trillions are being shovelled out the door on a monthly schedule? We have lost sight of the value of ‘money’.