US President Joe Biden reiterated on Tuesday that his administration is working to regain the lead in the global semiconductor industry, after Washington warned that losing leadership in manufacturing these chips is a "national security loophole."
The war in Ukraine and tensions in East Asia have marked the gateway to a major crisis in the so-called semiconductors, or chips, that the world needs in many basic industries.
The United States is one of the countries facing this predicament, relying heavily on Taiwan for these imports.
"It was the United States that invented electronic chips, we invented them thanks to our space program," Biden said. For 30 years, America made 40 percent of total global chip production, and then something happened and the backbone of our economy became hollow."
"Instead of moving products, companies and jobs are moving beyond borders. As a result, today we manufacture only about 10% of global chip production, despite our leadership in research, design and new chip technology."
The global chip market is about $430 billion, China consumes about 60 percent of global semiconductor production, while Taiwan dominates about 60 percent of the total global chip manufacturing.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) ranks as the world's largest with a market capitalization of more than $600 billion.
The United States imports 90 percent of its chip consumption from Taiwan, which, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, is a "national security gap."
Those U.S. concerns led Washington to allocate $52 billion to support its chip sector.
It has also halted the export of chips and semiconductors to China, as part of a technological war it is waging against Beijing.