The U.S. needs to work with global trading allies to find long-term fixes to the supply chain crisis that will transcend future American administrations, Matt Murray, senior bureau official in the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, told the Global Trade and Innovation Policy Alliance summit in a keynote Thursday. “We can’t just look at supply chain issues and say we need to fix it by Christmas because there are these short-term disruptions,” he said.
Small satellite-based voice service providers face a big challenge in implementing Stir/Shaken, the Satellite Industry Association said Friday in FCC docket 20-68. It urged an indefinite extension of the deadline for small VSPs to comply with the Stir/Shaken mandate "given the challenging circumstances facing small satellite VSPs, combined with their unique economic, operational, and technical characteristics." SIA said they can't authenticate calls under the standard due to huge reliance on non-North American numbering plan resources for caller ID purposes.
Qualcomm supports “targeted and rule-based export controls” as one of several long-term federal policy recommendations for curing the semiconductor shortage, it said in comments posted Wednesday in docket BIS-2021-0036. Submissions were due Nov. 8 in the Bureau of Industry and Security's request for information to help the secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security prepare a report to the White House on the chip crunch by the one-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 24 executive order (see 2109230038).
The U.S. announced new, coordinated sanctions this week against a virtual currency exchange for processing ransomware-related transactions, and designated several companies and people for supporting the exchange and “perpetuating” ransomware attacks in the U.S. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also updated its ransomware payment advisory, which includes new information on ransomware trends.
The industry shipped more semiconductor units in Q3 than during any previous quarter on record, ramping up production to mitigate the global chips crunch, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Monday. Global sales of $144.8 billion were up 27.6% year over year and 7.4% higher sequentially, said SIA. Year-over-year Q3 sales increased 33.5% in the Americas, and were up 32.3% in Europe, 27.2% in Asia Pacific, 24.5% in Japan and 24% in China, it said.
The industry shipped more semiconductor units in Q3 than during any previous quarter on record, ramping up production to mitigate the global chips crunch, reported the Semiconductor Industry Association Monday. Global sales of $144.8 billion were up 27.6% year over year and 7.4% higher sequentially, said SIA. Year-over-year Q3 sales increased 33.5% in the Americas, and were up 32.3% in Europe, 27.2% in Asia Pacific, 24.5% in Japan and 24% in China, it said.
New draft text of the congressional budget reconciliation bill includes a tax credit to incentivize advanced semiconductor manufacturing to help “strengthen” U.S. supply chains, said the Semiconductor Industry Association Thursday. The incentive, included in the reconciliation package released Thursday by congressional Democrats, would create an investment tax credit of up to 25% for advanced manufacturing facilities and for eligible components. It would apply to plants that begin construction before 2027. The credit “would help keep America on top in this foundational technology and strengthen U.S. chip supply chains by boosting domestic semiconductor production and innovation,” said Qorvo CEO Bob Bruggeworth, who chairs SIA's board. The credit was originally part of the Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors (Fabs) Act introduced in June. SIA President John Neuffer said fully funding the Chips Act would "turbocharge American leadership in the game-changing technologies of today and tomorrow.”
New draft text of Congress’ Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation bill includes a tax credit to incentivize advanced semiconductor manufacturing, which would help “strengthen” U.S. supply chains, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Oct. 28. The incentive, included in the reconciliation package released by congressional Democrats Oct. 28, would create an investment tax credit of up to 25% for certain “advanced manufacturing facilities” and a tax credit for certain “eligible components.” The credit would specifically be available for “property for the manufacturing of semiconductors and semiconductor tooling equipment” that begins construction before 2027. The package hasn’t yet received a vote.
Government subsidies have nurtured tech growth, a Semiconductor Industry Association webinar heard Thursday. Speakers agreed lack of high-skilled U.S. talent tamps down growth, even if Congress ultimately funds the Chips Act (HR-1390). MediaTek USA “is in a race to hire” to boost U.S. semiconductor growth, but the “talent pool we have to draw from is not as big and as large as we’d like,” said James Chen, associate vice president-product marketing. Chips are “pervasive in everything you do,” said Mike Hogan, GlobalFoundries senior vice president-general manager, automotive, industrial and multi-market. They are “really the new oil in the economy,” he said. The U.S. industry is “investing a lot” in R&D, and funding the Chips Act “is not a handout," he said: “This is reinforcing an industry that was born in the U.S., that can become prominent and world-leading in the U.S. again.” Hogan arrived at Texas Instruments around when Morris Chang left to start Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in 1985, he said. TSMC is now the world’s largest chip foundry, but Chang wouldn’t have “gotten it off the ground” had the Taiwanese government “not sponsored that initiative,” Hogan said. Public policy “plays a really critical role” in nurturing growth in the U.S. semiconductor industry, said Susie Armstrong, Qualcomm senior vice president-engineering. “It’s not the case that you have a bunch of rich U.S. or Taiwanese companies” looking for congressional handouts, she said: Qualcomm typifies most U.S. chip companies that rechannel a quarter-plus revenue and profit into R&D.
There’s rich historical precedent showing government subsidies can nurture private-sector tech growth, said panelists from some of the world’s biggest chip companies on a Semiconductor Industry Association webinar Thursday. But they agreed lack of high-skilled U.S. talent is a worrisome gating factor to growth, even if Congress ultimately votes to fund the Chips Act, as the industry vehemently wants.