US Chipmakers Hurt by Lagging Government Funding, Says SIA CEO Neuffer

The U.S. government has been slow to incentivize R&D in the semiconductor industry, ceding ground to foreign governments that have been heavily investing in advanced technologies for “decades,” said Semiconductor Industry Association CEO John Neuffer. He praised a recent push by Congress and the administration to provide more such federal funding and said much more is needed. “These would be very, very important first steps,” Neuffer said in an American Enterprise Institute interview Monday. “But when you compare to some other governments, it’s insufficient.” The Trump administration has taken what it says are significant measures to attract semiconductor manufacturing and counter rising competition from China, including convincing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build a factory in Arizona (see 2006240045) and increasing license restrictions for foreign exports of semiconductors to Huawei. Instead of more restrictions on China, Neuffer said he wants more domestic spending to aid U.S. companies. He said other governments “identified semiconductors as strategic industries long ago” and “they’ve been plowing substantial amounts into attracting semiconductor manufacturing.” Neuffer said the administration “has been working behind the scenes” on incentives for the semiconductor industry, and encouraged it and Congress to move faster and raise funding levels. The White House didn't comment Tuesday.