Apple joins new coalition lobbying for US chip manufacturing subsidies
Technology giants including Apple, Intel, and Microsoft have formed a new coalition, aimed at getting U.S. processor manufacturing subsidies as the worldwide shortage continues.
Credit: AppleInsider
As the Biden administration calls the global chip shortage a national security issue, a new coalition aims to lobby the government to incentivize U.S. processor production. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google, which are key buyers of processors, have joined with producers including Intel.
According to Reuters, the newly-formed Semiconductors in America Coalition, is asking the U.S. government to fund the new CHIPS for America Act. President Biden has already asked Congress to support the act with $50 billion.
"Robust funding of the CHIPS Act would help America build the additional capacity necessary to have more resilient supply chains to ensure critical technologies will be there when we need them," the group wrote in a letter sent to Democratic and Republican leaders in both houses of Congress.
The new coalition includes chip-buyers across multiple industries, such as AT&T, Cisco Systems, HP, and General Electric. The global chip shortage is particularly affecting the automotive industry, but the coalition does not want government intervention.
"Government should refrain from intervening as industry works to correct the current supply-demand imbalance causing the shortage," the group continued.
Separately, the government has been in talks with Intel and TSMC over increasing processor production in the U.S. In February 2021, President Biden also signed an executive order addressing the shortage.
"This is about making sure the United States can meet every challenge we faced in this new era of pandemics, but also in defense cybersecurity, climate change, and so much more," said President Biden at the time. "The best way to do that is by protecting and and sharpen and America's competitive edge by investing here at home."
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Credit: AppleInsider
As the Biden administration calls the global chip shortage a national security issue, a new coalition aims to lobby the government to incentivize U.S. processor production. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google, which are key buyers of processors, have joined with producers including Intel.
According to Reuters, the newly-formed Semiconductors in America Coalition, is asking the U.S. government to fund the new CHIPS for America Act. President Biden has already asked Congress to support the act with $50 billion.
"Robust funding of the CHIPS Act would help America build the additional capacity necessary to have more resilient supply chains to ensure critical technologies will be there when we need them," the group wrote in a letter sent to Democratic and Republican leaders in both houses of Congress.
The new coalition includes chip-buyers across multiple industries, such as AT&T, Cisco Systems, HP, and General Electric. The global chip shortage is particularly affecting the automotive industry, but the coalition does not want government intervention.
"Government should refrain from intervening as industry works to correct the current supply-demand imbalance causing the shortage," the group continued.
Separately, the government has been in talks with Intel and TSMC over increasing processor production in the U.S. In February 2021, President Biden also signed an executive order addressing the shortage.
"This is about making sure the United States can meet every challenge we faced in this new era of pandemics, but also in defense cybersecurity, climate change, and so much more," said President Biden at the time. "The best way to do that is by protecting and and sharpen and America's competitive edge by investing here at home."
Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.
Comments
"...the coalition is clearly concerned about the lobbying of the car industry which has asked the government to use national emergency legislation to force chip makers to prioritise car chips."
“Government should refrain from intervening as industry works to correct the current supply-demand imbalance causing the shortage,” the group said.
And big tech companies do not need subsidies. They can make chips in the US profitably and can take a small loss in profit margin for the team.
It’s meant to show the hypocrisy of capitalism’s staunch defenders and antisocial “small government” types who hate on, and sabotage, social programs, but then promote rescuing corporations from their own self-inflicted injuries (via our taxes, which they don’t pay into themselves AND also get rebates for). Conservatives hate on citizens for “looking for handouts”, but where’s the rage when corporations come looking for handouts? Laissez-faire capitalist types actively celebrate using the system’s loopholes, which is considered “smart” and “playing the game well”.
In a literal sense, we are propping up a failed economic system by using tax money to rescue corporations who have been parasites to society. That’s a one-way type of socialism: society pays to let corporate greed continue. None of these monster corporations need help setting up US-based chip fabbing; they just take every opportunity to exploit the society as possible so they can keep those profit margins high and never spend more than they can get away with not spending.
So if they’re going to rail against bailing out individuals and attack them for not taking “personal accountability”, we have to use the same language for when big corporations ask for handouts, because they literally have the wealth, but not the will to hold themselves accountable. “Socialism for the rich; rugged capitalism for the poor.”