Biden administration says it is working to address the global chip shortage; Biden is expected to sign an EO directing a supply chain review in the coming weeks
The expected order was the opening move in a broader federal response to chip scarcity: days later, the administration's 100-day supply-chain review formally put semiconductors and rare-earth metals under review. A draft had also framed the work as a strategy to reduce reliance on China across chips, batteries and rare earths.
The review created a channel for affected companies to press their cases, but the subsequent White House meeting with Alphabet, Intel, TSMC and GM was reported as an airing of grievances rather than a source of immediate remedies. Later administration steps paired supply-chain support with enforcement against unfair trade practices.
First-order effects
The Biden administration shifts its chip-shortage response from public concern to a government-wide review, requiring federal attention to semiconductor supply-chain vulnerabilities.
Chip-dependent companies gain a formal policy process through which to surface shortages and bottlenecks, rather than an immediate supply allocation or production fix.
Second-order effects
Intel, TSMC, Alphabet, GM and other companies participating in White House discussions face pressure to turn operational complaints into information useful to the federal review, even as the meeting itself was not expected to deliver substantive outcomes.
If this review-to-enforcement pattern holds, semiconductor supply becomes a sustained national economic-security portfolio alongside other strategic inputs, rather than a shortage addressed solely through individual company negotiations.
A US strategy explicitly aimed at reducing China reliance can make supply-chain disclosure and overseas sourcing a more persistent point of friction between manufacturers and Washington.
The trend: The chip shortage is accelerating a shift toward US industrial policy that treats semiconductor sourcing, strategic materials and trade enforcement as one connected resilience agenda.
Semiconductors are the new oil and the geopolitical spotlight is on them. Like OPEC was for oil, Taiwan and Korea are near-monopoly producers of chips. https://blogs.tslombard.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
CEOs of chip companies including Intel wrote the president to urge him to support domestic production and stop the country from losing its edge in innovation. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/ ...
.@POTUS' review of our domestic supply chain to address the chip shortage is a great first step. We must pass a bill like the RARE Act that I introduced last Congress to incentivize domestic production of rare earth metals. It's a matter of nat'l security. https://www.bloomberg.c…
If @JoeBiden signs an EO about chip supply, I believe that @Intel, #TSMC, @GLOBALFOUNDRIES and @SamsungSemiUS will be the biggest beneficiaries. However, these things don't happen overnight or even in weeks or months, but years. Will need to loosen up Trump trade restrictions.
NEWS: The Biden administration is “working aggressively” to address a global chip shortage that's caused automakers to halt production. Officials are working with the business community, Congress and trading partners on immediate steps, a WH official says. https://www.bloomberg.c…
The Germans seem to have convinced the larger Europe as the auto industry is taking a big hit. Europe is seeking to avoid depending on the U.S. and Asia for technology at the heart of some of its major industries. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
The European Union is considering building an advanced semiconductor factory in Europe in an attempt to avoid relying on the U.S. and Asia for technology at the heart of some of its major industries. https://www.bloomberg.com/...