Commerce Department, Biden Administration take action on semiconductor chip shortage

Supply chain issues have been a key challenge coming out of this unprecedented economic crisis resulting from this pandemic. For months, the Biden-Harris Administration has been engaged in a whole-of-government response, led by the Secretaries of Commerce, Transportation, and Agriculture. In June, the White House launched the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to address short-term supply chain bottlenecks as the economy rapidly reopens, spurred by the Administration’s historic vaccination and economic relief efforts.  

U.S. Secretary Gina Raimondo has been laser-focused on addressing the semiconductor chips shortage in particular and the supply chain disruptions overall, including working across party lines in both the House and Senate to support the bipartisan CHIPs for America Act to incentivize domestic semiconductor investment. In September, the Commerce Department launched a voluntary Request for Information to understand and quantify where bottlenecks may exist, and earlier this week, the Department launched an early alert system to coordinate U.S. government resources to help resolve supply chain bottlenecks.