Intel CEO urges government support for US semiconductor industry

Intel CEO Intel Pat Gelsinger asks members of the US House of Representatives to approve the CHIPS for America Act. He did this via an opinion piece on CNN. Through the bill, the US government would invest $52 billion in the chip industry.

In the opinion piece Published on CNN’s website, Intel’s chief executive says federal U.S. government support would level the playing field compared to the rest of the world and that the law would allow tens of billions of dollars in private investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry. The investments would also create thousands of new jobs.

In the US, the production of semiconductors has been systematically declining since the early 1990s, according to the CEO. “The US share of global chip production was 37 percent in 1990. In 2020 it was 12 percent. Europe’s share fell from 44 percent to about 9 percent during that period,” it sounds.

“Today, it is not financially interesting enough for many American companies to produce chips domestically,” Gelsinger continues. “The cost for chip manufacturers to produce semiconductors in the US can be up to 30 percent higher compared to production in Asia.” That continent currently represents 75 percent of global semiconductor production, according to Gelsinger.

“Without US investment to make chip production more competitive domestically compared to other countries, the US will not have adequate access to chips that both our economy and our national defense rely on,” it said. Federal government support will not eliminate current chip shortages in the US, according to Intel’s chief executive, but will play a fundamental role in avoiding them in the future.

The CHIPS for America Act stands for Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors. The bill has already been approved by the Senate and will soon be voted on by members of the US House of Representatives. Earlier this year, major US chip and tech companies formed a new lobby group called Semiconductors in America Coalition† The 64 members then called in an open letter to the US Congress to approve the CHIPS for America Act.

There are also plans in the European Union to boost investment in the European chip industry. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in September that she wants to present a European Chips Act. With this Act, Von der Leyen wants to ensure that there is a ‘European ecosystem of chips’, including European production of chips.