Washington, DC – The United States enjoys an incumbency advantage in the semiconductor supply chain, but to sustain those strategic advantages into the future, policymakers must take deliberate action, CSET Research Analyst Will Hunt testified before the Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research (STAR) Subcommittee of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence today.

At a hearing entitled “Microelectronics: Levers for Promoting Security and Innovation,” Hunt recommended building the United States as a global hub of semiconductor talent and innovation while protecting those advantages with research security measures, export controls and open-source intelligence.

“What can the United States and its allies do to promote their continued leadership in the semiconductor supply chain? An immediate priority for promoting U.S. semiconductor competitiveness is funding the CHIPS for America Act signed into law during the 116th Congress,” Hunt said. 

Noting that Taiwan currently manufactures almost all of the world’s most advanced logic chips, which are used for processing — as opposed to storing — data, Hunt pointed out that “a disruption in Taiwan’s chipmaking could have devastating economic consequences both in the United States and globally. Funding for the CHIPS Act is only a first step toward addressing the fragility of the semiconductor supply chain, but it is a step worth taking given the real risks of natural or political disruptions in East Asia.”

Hunt’s full testimony is available HERE.

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