US secretary of commerce warns of recession if Taiwan chips cut off

美國商務部長警告如果台灣晶片被斷供，經濟將陷入衰退

Gina Raimondo says US needs to make enough semiconductor wafers on own soil


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Wednesday (July 20) warned that the US economy could tip into a deep recession if the supply of chips from Taiwan were to be cut off.

Even though many computer chips were designed by companies like Intel in the U.S., the location of the manufacturing is also important, Raimondo said during an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

“If you allow yourself to think about a scenario where the United States no longer had access to the chips currently being made in Taiwan, it’s a scary scenario,” Raimondo said. “It’s a deep and immediate recession. It’s an inability to protect ourselves by making military equipment.”

She added that the U.S. needs to make enough semiconductor wafers on its own soil to prevent it from becoming too dependent on other countries.

Raimondo made the comment as the U.S. Congress is on the verge of passing a bill that provides roughly $52 billion in incentives for the semiconductor industry.

The legislation would also prohibit aid recipients from expanding or building new manufacturing plants for certain advanced semiconductors in China or another foreign country of concern, according to a draft of the legislation obtained by The Associated Press.

The semiconductor industry in the U.S. is also lobbying for the bill to be passed, with Intel saying that its initial plan to invest US$20 billion to build a fab in Ohio could be delayed if the bill was to be put off by Congress.

In response to criticism of the heavy funding for this single industry, Raimondo called semiconductors “a cornerstone technology necessary to underpin every other innovation-based industry.”

She pointed out that the country’s heavy dependence on foreign chip manufacturing, with 90% of leading-edge chips purchased from Taiwan, creates a national security risk.