U.S. President Joe Biden met with executives at key companies to discuss the global shortage of chips that has hit carmakers and spurred Intel Corp to announce plans to produce chips for car factories in its factories in the next six months. at nine months.
During Monday’s meeting, Biden said he has bipartisan support for semiconductor industry funding legislation. He previously announced plans to invest $ 50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research as part of his effort to rebuild US production under a $ 2 trillion infrastructure plan.
The global lack of chips stems from a confluence of factors as carmakers, which shut down factories during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, compete with the extended consumer electronics industry for chip supply. The latter industry has experienced a boom as people spend more time at home.
Biden and his top advisers see the lack of semiconductors as a “top and immediate priority,” the White House said after the meeting.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who virtually attended the meeting, told Reuters that the company wants to start producing chips at its factories within six to nine months to address the shortcoming, which left lines hollow assembly at some US car factories.
The drop in supply could lead to a potential shortfall of 1.3 million units in the production of light cars and trucks in the US this year.
“We hope some of these things can be improved, not requiring a three- or four-year factory, but maybe six months of new products certified for some of our existing processes,” Gelsinger said. “We have already begun these commitments with some of the key component suppliers.”
Increase
Last month, Intel announced plans to expand chip production to outsiders as it builds new plants in the United States and Europe. His talks with car suppliers revealed Monday are an acceleration of those plans.
The White House meeting included executives from 19 prominent companies, including General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley, and Chrysler CEO Stellantis NV CEO Carlos Tavares. Also in attendance were White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“Today I received a letter from 23 senators, bipartisans and 42 members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, supporting the chips program for America,” Biden said at the top of the session.
Intel has given hope to the automotive sector and said it can start producing chips in six to nine months [File: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg]
Also present were executives from companies such as GlobalFoundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., AT&T, Samsung Electronics Co. and Google-parent Alphabet Inc.
Participants stressed the importance of increasing transparency in the semiconductor supply chain to help alleviate the current shortage and improve demand forecasts to help avoid future challenges, the White House said in a statement.
They also discussed “the importance of encouraging additional semiconductor production capacity in the United States to ensure that we will never face shortages again,” she added.
Participants discussed short- and long-term approaches to address the lack of chips, but it was not possible for any decision or announcement to come immediately from the meeting, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
Broadband, mobile and cable TV companies are also facing delays in receiving “network switches, routers and servers,” according to an industry group.
Special treatment?
Many of the policy makers who support additional funding for semiconductors want to see the measure in an independent competitiveness bill for China, not as part of Biden’s infrastructure package, as it is now. The Chinese bill has bipartisan support and could have a faster path through Congress.
But exactly how to spend and allocate funding for semiconductors is a source of debate among automakers and other chip consumers, as well as semiconductor companies.
Automakers are pushing for some of the money to be set aside for quality vehicle chips, warning of production shortfalls if their industry does not take precedence.
However, manufacturers of other electronic devices affected by the lack of chips, such as computers and mobile phones, have faced the demands of car manufacturers, who are concerned about their industries. The debate was also a factor in the White House meeting.
The White House has not taken a public position on the issue, but has privately indicated to semiconductor industry leaders that it would not support special treatment for an industry, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the issue.
Later this week, the Senate Trade Committee will hold its first hearing on a bipartisan measure to support research and technological development efforts in an attempt to address Chinese competition.
“Trying to address crisis-based supply chains with crisis creates critical national security vulnerabilities,” National Security Adviser Sullivan said in a statement.