DailyPost 2131
HOW DESPERATE ARE WE? FAB IS JUST AN EXPAMPLE!
The battle for semiconductor fab is all around the place. There are countries which want to have the whole supply chain to be on their own territory. From 80% of the world production of semiconductors few decades back for the US, to 12% today, does not seem to be an acceptable situation. The importance of fab seems intangible to understand, for people outside high-tech production, suffice to say, fab is more important on your territory than an additional aircraft carrier. At the back end of everything is, how desperate are we, to do research and development and produce what all needs to be produced in any progressive country.
Any pitfall, is a pitfall for good. The evil consequences will show up when you will find your competitors going past the victory line and you being a poor spectator. There is no shortcut in technology, and more so the core ones, one being semiconductors. In the backdrop of a desperate bid to set right the imbalances of both the production and the supply chain, we are finding semiconductor manufacturers getting into the act in the US. Samsung, Intel and Texas Instruments have recently announced plans for new chip factories in the US. Samsung is moving into Taylor, Central Texas to give the monumental boost to the US semiconductor fab capability. This fab will be at an investment of $17 billion.
Funding is an open declaration of the will of the government. Today, the US government’s diminished standing in research funding, by some estimates, is the lowest since before the space race of the 1960s. Besides, the semiconductor fab, few other critical areas impacted include quantum computing and artificial intelligence. To boost US competitiveness in semiconductors and advanced technology, the US Senate on Tuesday voted 64 to 32 to advance $280 billion package of a subsidies and funding. This package is seen as critical to competing with China. Tech war is the real war. *To stop getting crippled, tech advantage should be yours.
The package will give a big boost to domestic chip production and would help improve the issues of US supply chain and national security. Import can have such implications. The prices can also go out of control because there is chip in everything. Senate Majority Leader was of the opinion that passage of this bill would be a turning point for American leadership in the 21st century. Dependence on faraway countries in an event of pandemic or a geopolitical event can be suicidal. Making available funds and costs cutting by way of subsidies and tax reliefs cannot be overemphasized. There would be a $52 billion available in subsidy funding and $24 billion in advanced manufacturing tax credits as a part of this package. $200 billion would go in scientific research, federally backed in the next decade. General wireless research is also on the agenda and so is the urgency to establish long term policies for the US space program.
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH IS THE ONLY WAY TO OWN OUR FUTURE.
Sanjay Sahay