US should play a bigger part in global semiconductor industry: Antony Blinken

• Antony Blinken has called on the US to become more involved in the global semiconductor industry.
• The Chips and Science Act aims to encourage the manufacture of microchips domestically.
• Mexico has also invited the US to join its multibillion-dollar initiative to increase semiconductor production.

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States should play a bigger part in the global semiconductor industry for the benefit of its economy and security.

Blinken emphasized the significance of “getting into that tech diplomacy, making sure that the United States is at the table when decisions are being made” while speaking to researchers and students at Purdue University, home to one of the nation’s top engineering schools.

He added: “We need to be there, and not only do we need to be there, we need to be able to carry the debate.”

In order to address Covid-19 supply chain difficulties and move away from dependency on Chinese technology, the United States is spearheading an unprecedented push to accelerate American semiconductor research and manufacture.

The car industry and cellphones are only two of the many international industries that depend on electrical components.

The $52 billion in the Chips and Science Act, which US President Joe Biden signed into law this month, would be used to encourage the manufacture of microchips domestically.

Blinken noted that technology has an impact on every field, including defence and international affairs, when he made the statement at Purdue, “What we do here resonates around the world.”

Purdue University features multiple semiconductor research laboratories and a prestigious engineering school, despite being far from Silicon Valley, the traditional centre of US technology innovation.

Blinken was accompanied by US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo as she took a tour of the university’s research sites in the Midwest.

The United States needs to move from “lab to fab,” or fabrication, she continued, adding that “The Chips Act is an investment in America.”

The two top officials had just come back from a trip to Mexico, where they extended an invitation for Mexico to join the United States in its multibillion-dollar initiative to increase semiconductor production in order to compete with China.

Due to Covid-19 supply chain snarls, production has been disrupted in all industries, including modern technology, and it has also become clear how dependent China is on the United States and other nations for technological components.

Biden recently referred to the manufacture of semiconductors as a national security issue.

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