Earlier this year, the White House said a semiconductor shortage could cause historic damage to the United States, undercut technological competitiveness and give adversaries a military advantage. Since then, the $52 billion CHIPS Act passed to ramp up semiconductor production in the U.S. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released a preliminary report on the issue.
- Experts GAO interviewed all agreed that workforce development is essential for improving the semiconductor supply chain, according to Candice Wright, director at the agency.
- Wright said the supply chain weaknesses have been developing for decades and worsened during the pandemic.
- She said the experts did not all agree that increasing domestic manufacturing capacity was necessary.