CHIPMAKERS LOOK TO EXPAND IN US

As tremors in global supply chains continue to rattle everything from auto manufacturing to baby formula, the especially intricate domestic semiconductor industry is looking to Washington for help bringing more of its production to the U.S. and getting insulated from geopolitical hazards.

But it won’t be easy. State-of-the-art chipmaking and packaging has long been centered in East Asia and particularly in Taiwan, where powerhouse fabricator TSMC has been working for decades to position itself as an indispensable mass producer of chips for client companies including AMD, Apple and Texas Instruments.

“Tiny microchips are in everything and right now there’s a global shortage,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) told a conference on a technology and trade bill last week that could include significant tax breaks for chip manufacturers.