
The White House convened a meeting of business executives on Monday to discuss semiconductor supply chains amid a global chip shortage, with President Biden using the moment to pitch his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which aims in part to bolster high-tech domestic manufacturing.
“China and the rest of the world is not waiting, and there’s no reason why Americans should wait,” Mr. Biden said.
At one point, he held up a silicon wafer and declared, “This is infrastructure.”
Participants in the meeting, described by the White House as a “virtual C.E.O. summit on semiconductor and supply chain resilience,” included executives from AT&T, Ford Motor, General Motors, Google, Intel, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The meeting was closed to the news media, aside from a brief portion when Mr. Biden gave remarks.
The global semiconductor shortage has disrupted auto production in the United States and elsewhere, underscoring both a short-term and long-term challenge for the Biden administration with economic and national security implications.
signed an executive order directing his administration to conduct a 100-day review of supply chains for semiconductors and several other types of critical goods.
His infrastructure plan also seeks to strengthen supply chains for chips and other important products.
It includes $50 billion for semiconductor research and manufacturing, and another $50 billion to create an office at the Commerce Department focused on the country’s industrial capacity and support for the production of critical products. It also includes $50 billion for the National Science Foundation, where Mr. Biden would create a technology directorate focused on areas like semiconductors.