Carmakers Don't Deserve Special Chip Treatment
The industry's lobbying push for a designated allocation of semiconductors amid a widespread global shortage is understandable but ill-advised.
Fixing a temporary problem with a permanent solution that leaves other sectors and the chipmakers themselves at a disadvantage would be misguided.
Photographer: Samsung
When does a car deserve special treatment from the government? That’s the question at the heart of this week’s White House summit on the semiconductor shortage that’s impacted everything from smartphones to tractors, factory equipment and, yes, passenger vehicles.
The confab is unlikely to yield any immediate solutions. The Biden administration’s infrastructure spending proposal includes $50 billion to incentivize domestic chip manufacturing and research, but all the money in the world can’t produce semiconductors out of thin air overnight. There is no easy fix for the mismatch in chip supply and demand as the economy bounces back from the doldrums of the pandemic and products of all shapes and sizes become more high-tech. Rather, this is largely an opportunity for political maneuvering and an airing of grievances.