Estimates from consulting firm AlixPartners put the cost of the global chip shortage at $210 billion in lost sales for the auto industry alone.
According to a fact sheet shared with CNN, the White House has been working with Congress, international partners and the private sector “to expand U.S. chip manufacturing capacity.”
The Intel announcement is the latest in a series of efforts to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
In a statement Friday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo applauded Intel’s announcement, calling it “a big win for Intel, for American manufacturing, and for American consumers who can look forward to lower prices as we bring home production of semiconductors that keep our economy running.”
According to an estimate from the Semiconductor Industry Association, the industry has announced nearly $80 billion in new investments in the US through 2025 since the beginning of 2021, including a $17 billion Samsung factory in Texas, $30 billion in investments from Texas Instruments and more.
The President raised the issue of global semiconductor shortages during an October summit on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome. During the meeting, Biden said that the way to solve the supply bottlenecks would be ending the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that it’s “the ultimate key to unlocking the disruptions.”
The Department of Defense has also used Defense Production Act authorities to strengthen supply chains for key defense-related semiconductors.
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