The Future of U.S. Semiconductor Policy: Answering the China Chip Challenge

A little over a week into 2021, and we have plenty to talk about. As we welcome the 117th Congress into session, they have a lot on their plate, including U.S. semiconductor policy. Five years ago, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced a decade-long campaign dubbed “Made in 2025,” designed to secure for itself global dominance in ten key economic and national security sectors, including the crucial semiconductor industry, where an investment of more than $150 billion is underway. American policymakers have long recognized the importance of semiconductors for U.S. economic and national security. The U.S. semiconductor sector was created with the support of government investment and has been protected by industrial policy over the past 70 years. Today, a bipartisan consensus among national policymakers has embraced a new national semiconductor industrial policy to counter the Chinese challenge. Recent policy measures include increasing federal R&D support and initiating new trade controls and other actions to prevent technology transfer to China. With a national policy for the semiconductor industry soon to become the responsibility of a new administration, Lincoln Network will host a virtual panel with technology and national security experts to examine recent policy developments and offer recommendations for 2021 and beyond.