U.S. Department of Commerce
09/23/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/24/2021 08:42
Opening Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the White House Semiconductor Convening
When we last convened the industry on the chip shortage in May, I heard from many of you that things were going to improve after Q3. I also heard that we need more transparency and trust in the supply chain.I asked for industry to lead the way and said the administration is standing by to help.
Four months later, the situation seems to be getting worse. We are hearing regularly from companies that cannot get the supply they need. We also know the delta variant has closed down key factories. This could hinder our strong recovery and could persist throughout 2022.
I know this is not just a problem for the buyers. On the supply side of the market, you have increased your production to record levels in recent months. You have stayed engaged with our team to share your ideas. I want to thank you for that.
What's still not clear is what specifically is happening. For example, I don't know who is overordering or who is not supplying at the levels expected.
Frankly, I'm not interested in pointing fingers. I'm interested in solving the problem.
There's so little transparency across the board. And that can't continue.
President Biden has asked me to work with you to find solutions for these challenges and keep us moving forward. That's what today's about.
This is also about the CHIPS Act and broader investments in supply chain resilience. You know I have been fighting for CHIPS. But if we want CHIPS to be successful, we need more information NOW, so we can target our investments.
Today, we will talk about the bottlenecks. We'll also review the progress that's been made since May and provide an update on what the administration will do to gather information faster and work with allies.
I'll hand it over to Brian Deese.