The COVID-19 pandemic’s medical and economic turmoil has highlighted the need to bring manufacturing back to the United States.
From the personal protective equipment shortages that hampered public health efforts at the start of the pandemic to the semiconductor shortages that are upending the American economy today, the vulnerabilities of relying upon overseas manufacturers for vital equipment and components have quickly become apparent.
The semiconductor shortage America is experiencing is of particular concern because it threatens to upend not only our domestic economy, but also our national security.
These chips, which power everything from smartphones to automobiles, are also critical components of military equipment ranging from advanced guided weaponry to emerging artificial intelligence technologies.
Losing access to them may mean losing access to the very means with which to defend the United States.
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Our leaders in Washington appear to be aware of the strategic importance of semiconductors
The House of Representatives and Senate have passed legislation and the Biden administration has issued an Executive Order, all with the intent of restoring American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.
Unfortunately, concurrent legislative efforts may undermine the significant investments that have been prescribed to help bolster American chip manufacturing.
A legislative proposal to ban PFAS chemicals, a critical component of semiconductors, could worsen the domestic chip shortage and bring an end to chip manufacturing in the United States.
Given the lack of scientific evidence to support such a drastic measure, as well as the negative national security implications involved, Congress would be wise to allow more research to be done before any such legislation is enacted.
National Security Risk of Banning PFAS Chemicals
The fact is, PFAS chemicals have been used in the US for decades across many industries and have not risen to the level of a significant environmental or public health risk.
The Environmental Protection Agency, for example, lists many common sources of drinking water contaminants, but PFAS chemicals are not mentioned. Meanwhile, the CDC has found that “human health effects from exposure to low environmental levels of PFAS are uncertain.”
But while any environmental or public health concerns around PFAS have yet to be determined, the national security risks of banning such chemicals are very real.
In the early days of the pandemic, the Department of Defense shifted its top technological priority to semiconductors. Fears that the US was losing its technological edge to geopolitical adversaries prompted this pronouncement, and global events since then have only reinforced the decision.
China’s Domestic Semiconductor Industry
In its five-year plan covering 2021 to 2025, China has made it a national priority to promote its domestic semiconductor industry.
The Communist Country’s National Semiconductor Fund, established in 2014 with $35 billion and topped off in 2019 with an additional $21 billion, has already started paying dividends.
Between 2015 and 2019, China saw its share of global semiconductor manufacturing increase from 8 to 12 percent, and the Semiconductor Industry Association predicts that the country will account for 28 percent of global chip capacity by the end of the decade.
Meanwhile, the United States has seen its global share of domestically manufactured chips fall from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent today.
Taiwan
China is not only flexing its economic muscle to boost its semiconductor industry, but the People’s Liberation Army is also capable of expanding the county’s reach in ways that could further disrupt international supply chains for semiconductors.
According to a January 2022 study by the Center for a New American Security, China could use economic coercion, cyber operations, and hybrid tactics to disrupt or seize chip manufacturing in East Asia — the site of 75 percent of global chip production.
According to the report, Taiwan would be especially vulnerable to such actions.
Given the fact that “the United States is already more dependent on Taiwan’s high-end microchips than it was on Middle Eastern oil in decades past,” such a move could grind our economy to a halt and draw America into a military conflict with China.
Repatriating semiconductor manufacturing to the United States in concert with diversifying global supply chains will be critical to prevent such a scenario from occurring.
Re-Securing America’s Domestic Semiconductor Supply
The collective combination of national security, scientific, economic, and regulatory factors mandate pressing pause on the PFAS Action Act.
The bill, passed in the House and now under review in the Senate, has yet to be enacted, allowing time for the full ramifications of such legislation to be understood.
The need to re-secure America’s domestic semiconductor supply chain has never been clearer. Policymakers should think twice about any actions that could undermine this effort.
Major General Bob Dees, US Army, Retired, has a breadth of national security expertise, including development of high technology weapons and communications systems. He is President of Resilience Consulting LLC, promoting individual, leader, and national resilience best practices.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Defense Post.
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