Biden admin working to ‘unstick ports’, partner with industry to ‘incentivize’ chip production in US: Raimondo

Biden admin will offer incentives instead of a mandate for domestic production of semiconductor chips, says U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo

The Biden administration is using every tool at its disposal to "unstick the ports" ahead of Christmas and is also aiming to partner with American industry to "incentivize" domestic production of semiconductor chips amid the global supply chain crisis, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said Sunday.

Raimondo, the former governor of Rhode Island, appeared on CBS’ "Face the Nation" to address why America’s shipping has remained gridlocked, saying "that isn’t what the government does." 

"Fundamentally, supply chains and logistics are run by the private sector," Raimondo said. "People say to me, will Christmas gifts be delivered? To which I say, call FedEx."

The White House has previously said that it can’t guarantee that Christmas gifts will arrive on time. 

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Raimondo said that the supply chain clog "is a direct result of Covid," emphasizing that it is temporary, that the government is working every day to address the situation.

"What we are doing, and the president is committed to this, we are using every tool in our toolbox to be supportive, to help unstick the ports," the secretary of commerce said.

Raimondo also addressed the semiconductor chip shortage, saying that the Biden administration will instead offer incentives for domestic production rather than pushing a mandate.

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"At one point in America, we made all the chips that we needed to consume," she said. "But over time, over the past several decades, that has left out shores in search of cheap labor in Asia."

Raimondo called on Congress to pass Biden’s Build Back Better bill, which will add a $52 billion set of incentives to help rebuild the domestic supply in the U.S. and create jobs along the way.

"We are working in partnership with industry to incentivize domestic production. We want to make chips in America."