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Transcript/ScriptUS TSMC MICROCHIP
HEADLINE: With $6.6B to Arizona hub, Biden touts big steps in US chipmaking
TEASER: With third Taiwan-led chip facility, Biden hopes to bring nanotechnology back home to U.S.
PUBLISHED AT: (4/8/24 & 8:31p)
BYLINE: Anita Powell, Levi Stallings
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington, Flagstaff, AZ
VIDEOGRAPHER: Levi Stallings
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, sb
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AFP, ORIGINAL
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:06
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: have requested un-tracked version of Levi’s broll – should come soon))
INTRO:
President Joe Biden on Monday announced a $6.6 billion grant to Taiwan’s top chip manufacturer for semiconductor manufacturing in Arizona, which includes a third facility that will bring the tech giant’s investment in the state to $65 billion. VOA’s White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington, with reporter Levi Stallings in Flagstaff, Arizona.
((NARRATION))
A single semiconductor transistor is smaller than a grain of sand.
But billions of them, packed neatly together on a chip can connect the world,
control weapons of war,
and, someday, even drive your car.
((NARRATION))
But U.S. production of this American-born technology has fallen off in recent decades.
((Radio: Andy Wang is dean of engineering at Northern Arizona University))
((Andy Wang, Northern Arizona University))
“As a nation, we used to produce 40% of microchips for the whole world. Now we produce less than 10%.”
((NARRATION))
But on Monday, the Biden administration announced $6.6 billion in funding for the world’s top chipmaker to build a third facility in the state of Arizona.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company says it will put the U.S. on track to produce 20 percent of the world’s leading-edge semiconductors by the end of this decade.
The funding comes from the bipartisan 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden highlighted that year in a visit to TSMC’s first Arizona facility.
((President Joe Biden)) ((add date in upper right: December 6, 2022))
"American manufacturing is back, folks, American manufacturing is back."
((NARRATION))
Engineers say the legislation addresses a key weakness in American chip manufacturing.
((Radio: Todd Achilles teaches innovation, strategy and policy analysis at the University of California-Berkeley))
((Todd Achilles, University of California, Berkeley)) ((ZOOM))
“We’ve just gotten in the cycle of the last 15 to 20 years, where innovation has slowed down. It’s all about financial results, investor payouts, and stock buybacks, and we’ve lost that innovation muscle. And the CHIPS Act, pulling that together with the CHIPS Act is the perfect opportunity to restore that.”
((NARRATION))
But, they say, America urgently needs talent. The White House says this new investment could create 25,000 construction and manufacturing jobs. Are there enough workers to feed this need?
((Radio: Zachary Holman is vice dean for research and innovation at Arizona State University))
((Zachary Holman, Arizona State University)) ((ZOOM))
“Our engineering college is the largest in the country, with over 33,000 enrolled students, and still we’re hearing from companies across the semiconductor industry that they’re not able to get the talent they need in time."
((NARRATION))
TSMC in 2022 broke ground on a facility that makes some of the world's most advanced chips.
With each jump, chip production can get more and more complex and expensive.
Can the country that made the mighty chip keep up? Biden’s betting on it.
((For Levi Stallings in Flagstaff, Arizona, Anita Powell, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateApril 8, 2024 20:56 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
