White House considers Cold War-era law to get data on semiconductor

Participants in Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo's meeting included Detroit's Big Three automakers, plus Apple, Daimler, BMW, GlobalFoundries, Micron, Microsoft, Samsung , TSMC, Intel, and Ampere

The Joe Biden (pictured) administration is considering invoking a Cold War-era national security law to force companies in the semiconductor supply chain to provide information on inventory and sales of chips, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.

 

The goal is to alleviate bottlenecks that have idled US car production and caused shortages of consumer electronics and to identify possible hoarding, she said in an interview.

 

Her team for months has sought clarity into how companies allocate their semiconductor supply. But previous meetings that convened firms from different industrial sectors haven’t led to increased transparency and many companies have refused to hand over business data to the government.

 

The Commerce Department is now asking companies to fill out questionnaires within 45 days providing supply chain information. The request is voluntary but Raimondo said she warned industry representatives that she might invoke the Defense Production Act or other tools to force their hands.

 

“What I told them is, ‘I don’t want to have to do anything compulsory but if they don’t comply, then they’ll leave me no choice,’” she said. “I said today we’re evaluating all of our options right now, all the tools. I hope not to go there but we need to see some progress.” The production act gives the president broad authority to direct industrial production in crises.