Biden Needs More Than $52 Billion to Counter China in Chips

  • White House report on supply chain asks for sweeping reforms
  • Semiconductors among four key products to securing supply
The U.S. Senate has passed a bill offering $52 billion to bolster domestic chip manufacturing.Photographer: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg
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President Joe Biden’s blueprint for the U.S. semiconductor industry marks an ambitious effort to set industrial policy for a critical sector of the economy, but the strategy will need more money and global support to take back chip supremacy and preempt a rival effort from China.

The White House on Tuesday outlined a sweeping plan to secure the conduits for critical products from medicines to chips, responding in part to the growing economic and political sway of its Asian rival. Semiconductors -- the basic yet incredibly sophisticated components in most every modern device -- took centerstage in a 250-page White House report, which highlighted Beijing’s “ultimate goal of cyber sovereignty and establishing first-mover advantage.”