Whitmer at the White House: ‘We cannot allow China to outcompete us on chip manufacturing’

beijingwalker · Mar 10, 2022

Whitmer at the White House: ‘We cannot allow China to outcompete us on chip manufacturing’

Updated: Mar. 09, 2022, 6:04 p.m.

By Lindsay Moore | lmoore@mlive.com
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sat down with President Joe Biden on Wednesday to further push for semiconductor manufacturing to move home — and not just to the U.S. but to the birthplace of the automotive industry.

“The future of mobility and manufacturing ought to be stamped with words that make us all proud: ‘Made in the USA,’ or better yet, ‘Made in Michigan,’” Whitmer said at a White House event on economic competitiveness.

Whitmer spoke alongside leaders like Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Director of the National Economic Council Brian Deese, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, and key private sector leaders. The meeting focused on economic competitive legislation and funding for the federal CHIPS Act.

The CHIPS Act would fund $52 billion in incentives to boost domestic semiconductor production and research. Within that bundle is $2 billion dedicated to incentivizing production of the “mature node” semiconductors used by automakers and parts suppliers.

The chip shortage cost North American automakers an estimated 2.2 million vehicles in 2021. The impact was felt on the line as well as plants paused while they waited for parts. It’s estimated the chip shortage cost over 3,000 days of work in North America.

At home, Michigan workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis all experienced shutdowns last year.

The House passed the America COMPETES Act, which includes funding for the CHIPS Act, last month.

Whitmer has led the charge of governors pushing Congress to act. After the House vote, she and 21 bipartisan governors penned a letter to Congress urging the final passage of economic competitiveness legislation with full funding for the CHIPS Act.

“We cannot allow China to outcompete us on chip manufacturing and dominate everything from electronics to electric vehicles and countless other future technologies that we all need,” Whitmer said.

The CHIPS Act would help both the country and the state compete at a global level, Whitmer said.

“It would create thousands of high-skill, good-paying jobs and show businesses that the United States is the place to build the future,” she said. “It would lower costs for American families by breaking up delays in our supply chain. This is game-changing, bipartisan legislation that will make a real difference in people’s lives if we get it done. It’s the kind of bill that can set us up for decades of economic success.”