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Semiconductors are vital to the modern economy, powering everything from video games and cars to supercomputers and weapons systems. The Biden administration is investing $39 billion to help companies build more factories in the United States to bring more of this supply chain back home.
But even after U.S. facilities are built, chip manufacturing will remain decidedly global.
The international journey of one kind of chip, made by the American semiconductor manufacturer Onsemi and used to power electric vehicles, demonstrates how difficult it will be to decouple from East Asia and other regions that dominate the chip market.
The first steps for making this particular semiconductor, known as a silicon carbide chip, happen in a factory in New Hampshire. The chip ends up in cars driven on American roads and elsewhere. But in between, the process will depend on raw materials, machinery and intellectual property from dozens of foreign suppliers and factories.
