Keith Krach Applauds the Signing of the CHIPS and Science Act into Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, Keith Krach, former Under Secretary of State and Chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, issued the following statement after his attendance of the signing of the CHIPS and Science Act into law:
“This is a big day for America – for national security, our global economic security, and our long-term prosperity. The investment will create thousands of jobs across the entire supply chain and create a broad ripple effect of technical training and know-how throughout the tech ecosystem.
Our adversaries, starting with the Chinese Communist Party, are playing a game of four-dimensional military, economic, diplomatic and cultural chess, and the crossroads and the main battlefield is technology. The CHIPS and Science Act will help American tech companies build, expand, and modernize domestic facilities and equipment for semiconductor production and accelerate research in AI, quantum computing, 6G, hypersonics, and other national security technologies.
“General Secretary Xi Jinping is propping up China’s semiconductor manufacturing by committing $1 trillion over the next 10 years. He is terrified that a united United States will commit to the equivalent of a moonshot. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act may do exactly that, taking the technological advantage away from China Inc. and returning it to the United States.
Our State Department team was committed to the national security strategic imperative of securing the semiconductor supply chain and bringing high-tech manufacturing back home where it belongs. “Our State and Commerce Department team brokered a $12-billion deal with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to onshore a state-of-the-art facility in Arizona.Our strategy (and our hope) was that TSMC’s announcement would provide the necessary impetus to spark three additional areas to further fortify a trusted supply chain by: (1) attracting TSMC’s broad ecosystem of suppliers; (2) persuading other chip companies to produce in U.S., especially as Intel and Samsung; (3) inspiring universities to develop engineering curriculum focused on semiconductor manufacturing and R&D. We also believed TSMC was the crucial catalyst to design a bipartisan bill (CHIPS for America) providing the necessary funding to bring back American semiconductor manufacturing. We also hoped the deal would inspire congress to pass the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act that we architected with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Senator Todd Young to boost investment in high-tech research.
“In the days, months, and years ahead, I look forward to seeing the positive impacts the CHIPS and Science Act will have on strengthening our supply chains, building our tech workforce, and fortifying our national and economic security.”
+++
Krach co-founded and chairs the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University and co-chairs the Global Tech Security Commission.
Krach’s team at the State Department worked with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) on the original Endless Frontier Act initially conceived in October 2019 to boost investment in high-tech research vital to national security.
Krach spearheaded the largest onshoring in U.S. history to secure the semiconductor supply chain while serving as the nation’s top economic diplomat from 2019 to 2021, which laid the foundation for the CHIPS Act portion of the legislation making investments in semiconductor manufacturing. Krach also built the Clean Network Alliance to defeat the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to control 5G communications.
###
CONTACT: James Nash
Email: james@rokksolutions.com
