President Joe Biden has a chip as he speaks before signing an executive order aimed at addressing the global semiconductor shortage in the state dining hall of the White House in Washington, USA, on February 24, 2021.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Leaders of companies such as Alphabet, AT&T, Intel and Google General Motors will take part in a virtual White House summit on Monday to address the global shortage of semiconductors.
The summit comes as the Biden administration begins a review of major U.S. supply chains, including semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, medical supplies, and rare earth metals. The shortage of computer chips has implications for a variety of industries, from electric vehicle producers to medical supplies.
Recently, automakers such as GM and Ford had to reduce production estimates or extend downtime to address shortages. The supply chain was initially compromised in the early days of the Covid pandemic, as much of the global tokens are manufactured in Asia, where the crisis began.
U.S. officials and lawmakers have stressed the potential security implications of the country’s dependence on other countries for semiconductors. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said in February that “semiconductor manufacturing is a dangerous weakness in our economy and in our national security.”
As a matter of both economic and national security, the supply chain assessment described by the February Biden executive order seeks to test the “strength and capacity of U.S. manufacturing supply chains and the industrial base of defense to support national security [and] emergency preparedness “.
The White House has also said it intends to review gaps in national supply and manufacturing chains dominated by “countries that are or are likely to become unfriendly or unstable.”
Although the White House review does not explicitly mention China, the directive is likely to be largely an effort by the administration to determine the dependence of the U.S. economy and military on a critical group of Chinese exports.
The virtual summit will be led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and NEC Director Brian Deese along with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, according to the White House. Participants will discuss Biden’s U.S. employment plan and how to strengthen the semiconductor supply chain in the United States, according to the White House.
The following is a complete list of companies whose executives must participate in the summit:
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SEE: The shortage of chips slows down the production of game consoles, cars and more