U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasized the importance of domestic chip production in an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday and said the United States is on track to meet its end-of-decade goals.
“My boss, President Biden, has been very clear on this topic and I don’t think there’s anything reckless or playing politics here,” Raimondo said. “It’s time to take these issues seriously and have serious solutions.” It’s time, and that’s why we passed the CHIPS Act and that’s what we’re doing when we implement it.”
The Biden administration’s CHIPS bill allocates billions of dollars to encourage semiconductor companies to manufacture products in the United States, with beneficiaries including Intel, Micron, Samsung and British Semiconductor.
Raimondo said more than 90 percent of U.S. graphics chips – vital to electronics such as cell phones, cars, and military equipment – are made in Taiwan. She called the situation “untenable” and “unsafe” and said it left the United States vulnerable. While Raimondo said there will always be chip production in Taiwan, she said the United States “needs to get out of this extremely vulnerable place.”
Raimondo said the country is “on the right path” to achieve its goal of domestically producing 20% of its chips by 2030, although she called the feat “bold.” She also pushed back against the idea that foreign countries such as Taiwan are taking manufacturing jobs away from the United States, saying those decisions were made by American companies.
“American businesses are looking for cheap capital, cheap labor and profits, so everything goes overseas – to China, Taiwan, etc.,” Raimondo said. “It’s just that we’ve woken up now and we’ve discovered that whether it’s chips or critical minerals or parts, we’re all vulnerable. It’s not all about short-term profits. You also have to take national security into consideration first.”
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