WASHINGTON, US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the announcement by General Motors (GM) to invest USD seven billion in Michigan is “the latest sign” that his economic strategy “is helping power an historic American manufacturing comeback.” “Today’s announcement by GM to make its largest investment ever, USD seven billion to create 4,000 new jobs at EV manufacturing sites in Michigan, is the latest sign that my economic strategy is helping power an historic American manufacturing comeback,” Biden said in a statement.
He affirmed “from day one, my Administration has been laser focused on making sure that America leads the manufacturing future of electric vehicles.” He added that “this announcement is just the latest in over USD 100 billion of investment this past year in American auto manufacturing to build electric vehicles and batteries.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was a major step toward this future by investing in EV charging and Congress can catalyze more with additional incentives for Made in America electric vehicles, batteries, and semi-conductors built by union hands,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce indicated that “median inventory held by chips consumers (including automakers or medical device manufacturers, as examples) has fallen from 40 days in 2019 to less than five days in 2021.” The Commerce noted “if a COVID outbreak, a natural disaster, or political instability disrupts a foreign semiconductor facility for even just a few weeks, it has the potential to shut down a manufacturing facility in the US, putting American workers and their families at risk.” Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in this regard “the semiconductor supply chain remains fragile and it is essential that Congress pass chips funding as soon as possible.
“With sky-rocketing demand and full utilization of existing manufacturing facilities, it’s clear the only solution to solve this crisis in the long-term is to rebuild our domestic manufacturing capabilities,” she stressed.
She added that Biden has proposed USD 52 billion “to revitalize our domestic semiconductor industry, and every day we wait on this funding is a day we fall further behind.” According to the Commerce, “the existing semiconductor facilities are operating at maximum utilization while demand remains up 17 percent since 2019”.
Source: Kuwait News Agency