The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today released the following statement from President and CEO John Neuffer in support of a recent letter from top national security leaders to President Biden urging enactment of legislation to strengthen America’s technological edge, including federal investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research called for in the CHIPS for America Act and the Endless Frontier Act. SIA represents 98% of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.
“A key part of strengthening U.S. national security is ensuring America’s global leadership in semiconductors, which are essential to a range of critical defense applications. SIA joins defense and intelligence leaders in calling on President Biden and Congress to enact and fund legislation to bolster America’s global technology leadership and semiconductor supply chains through federal investments in domestic chip manufacturing and research. Funding the CHIPS for America Act and enacting the Endless Frontier Act will help ensure more of the semiconductors our country needs are produced on U.S. soil, while also promoting America’s leadership in the strategically important technologies of today and tomorrow.”
The share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the U.S. has decreased from 37% in 1990 to 12% today, according to a report by SIA and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). This decline is largely due to substantial subsidies offered by the governments of our global competitors, placing 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 in January 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 must be provided to make these provisions a reality.
The SIA/BCG report found a $50 billion federal investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing incentives would reverse the trajectory of declining chip production in America and create as many as 19 major semiconductor manufacturing facilities, or fabs, and 70,000 direct high-paying jobs in the U.S. over the next 10 years, which by SIA calculations could create roughly an additional 350,000 indirect jobs throughout the economy (for a total of over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs).
President Biden has called for $50 billion to fund the semiconductor manufacturing and research provisions in the CHIPS for America Act. In February, the SIA board of directors – and later a broad coalition of business leaders led by SIA – called on President Biden to work with Congress to fund the semiconductor manufacturing incentives and research initiatives .
Earlier this month, SIA and BCG released a new report examining the global semiconductor supply chain and outlining government actions needed to strengthen it, including enacting federal investments in semiconductor manufacturing and research.