BUFFALO (WBEN) - During a press conference at the STAMP Campus in Genesee County Wednesday, Senator Chuck Schumer announced that he's doubling down on efforts to bring semiconductor manufacturing opportunities to the campus.
Schumer said STAMP is in contention to land Samsung’s $17 billion chip fab.
"I was the author of legislation that will put close to $50 billion so we can make our own chips here," said Schumer. "If we don't do it, our national security is at risk, and our economy is at risk. If they're all made overseas in Taiwan and in China, we're going to lose. Right now, many of our auto companies are on slow production or no production because they don't have these chips."
Of course, there's a serious global shortage of these semiconductor chips, which was brought about by several factors, but according to UB Distinguished Professor of supply chain management Nallan Suresh, it underscored the need to bring manufacturing of these chips to the United States.
"I'm afraid there's been very little improvement in the chip shortage situation, and it looks like it's going to continue for at least one more year," said Suresh. "There's a very fundamental problem in the supply chain - there's an over-concentration of production in far east Asia, particularly in Taiwan. Overall, probably 80% of the global production takes place in the far east and southeast Asia."
Schumer says he's been working since January to urge Samsung to select STAMP as the site of their new semiconductor fab because there is plenty of competition. Regardless, he argues the facility would help to establish New York as a global hub for the semiconductor industry and establish STAMP as a prime location for future tech development.
In June, Schumer announced senate passage of the USICA, which combined the Endless Frontier Act and $52 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations to implement the semiconductor-related manufacturing programs in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act and a program to support chip production. Schumer is now working to pass the federal semiconductor incentives into law as well as supporting the recently introduced FABS Act in an effort to develop U.S. semiconductor supply chain capabilities through an investment tax credit program.
"The most important issue right now is to rethink this whole supply chain," said Suresh. "We need to diversify our supply sources, increase domestic manufacturing capacity in a big way, and reduce our dependence on foreign sources."