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| Biden hopes to address the global semiconductor shortage |
President Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday to allay mounting concerns about a global semiconductor shortage, which is hampering the production of goods like cars and smartphones.
The White House Executive Order required the federal government to conduct a 100-day supply chain review of four types of products, including computer chips and high-capacity batteries like those used in electric cars.
The reason for the lack of chips is due to many factors caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. With more and more people connected to the Internet every day, so has demand from consumer electronics manufacturers for products such as laptops.
Part of the slowdown in chip manufacturing is due to the epidemic that made former President Trump's trade war with China difficult for American companies to work with Chinese chip makers.
Companies like Apple, Sony, Qualcomm and AMD have been concerned about bottlenecks in the past few weeks, including iPhone parts and game platforms like the PlayStation 5.
Earlier this month, auto, communications and technology lobbying groups urged the White House to work with Congress to allocate more funding for research and production of national chips.
These groups said in a letter to Biden last week: Semiconductors play an important role in enabling products and services to advance our economy, boost American innovation, and improve our national security.
"Given the central role of semiconductors, strengthening the US position in semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing is a national priority," she added.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Chuck Schumer) said at a press conference on Wednesday: Congress is working hard to devise a legislative plan to defeat China and create new American jobs and new investments in the US semiconductor industry.
“Semiconductor manufacturing is a serious weakness in our economy and our national security right now and it must be changed. We must not let China lead us into making chips,” Schumer added.
Outside the semiconductor supply chain, Biden's mission requires similar research in defense, public health, biological processing, information and communication technology, transportation, energy, and food production.