CSET Events

Bringing the Chipmakers Home

Attracting Manufacturers and the Talent to Sustain Them

CSET Research Analyst Will Hunt and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory East Asia National Security Advisor John VerWey discussed the incentives, talent development and regulatory measures necessary to attract leading edge chip manufacturing to the United States.

Since 1990, the U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has declined while the shares of China, South Korea, and Taiwan have increased. Recent chip shortages and supply chain delays have highlighted the United States’ dependence on foreign fabricated chips, prompting policymakers to seek ways to reshore semiconductor manufacturing capacity. 

Last year, Congress enacted the CHIPS for America Act, authorizing billions in incentives and subsidies aimed at bringing semiconductor manufacturing capacity back to the United States. CSET Research Analyst Will Hunt has written a recent set of reports with prescriptions for making the best use of these new incentives if or when the funds are appropriated. In “Sustaining U.S. Competitiveness in Semiconductor Manufacturing,” Hunt recommends prioritizing subsidies for leading edge chip manufacturers in order to maximize economic and security benefit. In “Reshoring Chipmaking Capacity Requires High-Skilled Foreign Talent,” Hunt explores the fields that will witness the greatest growth in demand for talent as a result of new fabrication activity, and provides prescriptions for ensuring the availability of that talent. 

Mr. Hunt and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s John VerWey discussed these two reports, as well as Mr. VerWey’s examination of regulatory changes that can support faster fab construction. The discussion offered a wide range of insights on how to promote U.S. competitiveness in a critical industry.

Recording and Discussion

Participants

Will Hunt is a Research Analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), where he leads research on semiconductor workforce and supply chain issues. Will has testified on semiconductor policy before the STAR Subcommittee of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; authored commentary for The Wall Street Journal; and been quoted in many outlets including The New York Times, MIT Technology Review, Wired, Axios, and The Washington Post. Previously, Will was a policy researcher at the University of Oxford and at the AI Security Initiative at the Center for Long Term Cybersecurity. He attended Deep Springs College and holds a BA from Yale University and an MA from the University of California, Berkeley, where he is currently completing his PhD in Political Science.

John VerWey is an East Asia National Security Advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). In this role, he uses his background in strategic trade controls and U.S.-China technology assessments to support U.S. government export control, supply chain security, and nonproliferation missions. He also serves as a consultant to Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). Before joining PNNL he worked for the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He holds a graduate degree in international political economy from the London School of Economics and undergraduate degrees in Asian studies and history from Gonzaga University.