West Lafayette (awp/afp) – The United States must “be present and influence the debate” in the field of semiconductors, said on Tuesday the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to a university in the north of the United States. United at the forefront of the subject.
“What we do here resonates around the world,” added Blinken, who, accompanied by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, visited Purdue University in Indiana, one of the world’s top engineering schools. most renowned in the country, which has several laboratories specializing in semiconductor research.
During an exchange with students, the US Secretary of State underlined the ramifications of this technology in all fields, including foreign policy and defence.
Washington is leading an unprecedented offensive to develop research and production of semiconductors in the United States in the face of competition from China.
US President Joe Biden recently signed legislation to invest $52 billion to subsidize the research and manufacture of these microprocessors in the United States, which over the years has ceded its leadership in this area to the Asian giant. .
“The Semiconductor Act is investing in America,” said Gina Raimondo, adding that the United States had to make sure it “moved from the laboratory to the manufacturing”.
The two senior US officials returned from a whirlwind visit Monday to Mexico, a country they called on to cooperate with the United States in this area, a sign of Washington’s growing desire to develop partnerships against China. .
These electronic components are essential to multiple sectors including the automobile and, globally, to everything that affects daily life, such as smartphones.
The Covid-19 crisis has greatly disrupted distribution channels, including in the field of advanced technology, and revealed the dependence of the United States and other countries on Beijing.
Joe Biden thus considered that the manufacture of these increasingly sophisticated electronic components was a question of “national security”.
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