The Trump administration and semiconductor manufacturers including Intel are looking to jump-start the development of new chip factories in the U.S., according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal.

A recent report from the Wall Street Journal titled “Trump and Chip Makers Including Intel Seek Semiconductor Self-Sufficiency,” outlines how President Trump’s administration and semiconductor companies are working to jump-start the development of new U.S. based chip factories as concern grows about the reliance on Asia as a source of technology.

 

Greg Slater, an Intel vice president, told the WSJ that the firm plans to operate a plant that could provide advanced chips securely for both the government and other customers. “We think it’s a good opportunity,” Slater said. “The timing is better and the demand for this is greater than it has been in the past, even from the commercial side.”

A senior official in the Trump administration confirmed that it is working to bring more production back to America, stating:

The administration is committed to ensuring continued U.S. technological leadership. The U.S. government continues to coordinate with state, local and private-sector partners as well as our allies and partners abroad, to collaborate on research and development, manufacturing, supply-chain management, and workforce development opportunities.

Discussions surrounding the development of American chip-factories have been underway for some time according to the WSJ:

Talks over chip-factory development plans have been under way for some time but have gained momentum recently as concern mounted about the fragility of the Asian supply chain and the defense industry’s access to domestically sourced advanced chips.

Taiwan, China and South Korea “represent a triad of dependency for the entire U.S. digital economy,” said an influential 2019 Pentagon report on national-security considerations regarding the supply chain for microelectronics.

“Taiwan, in particular, represents a single point-of-failure for most of the United States’ largest, most important technology companies,” said the report, written by Rick Switzer, who served as a senior foreign-policy adviser to an Air Force unit. He concluded that the U.S. needs to strengthen its industrial policies to address the situation.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com