My name is Catherine Tye. My title is
United States trade representative.
OK, so let's just kind of jump
right into chip sack and how that
impacts not just everything we
have going on here domestically,
but how does that impact our
relationship with China with Taiwan?
Because those are the other two major
players and the semiconductor industry.
So semiconductors these days everybody's
talking about it because there's nothing
like a disruption in the supply chain
to get people really focused on how
important some things are in our lives.
And it turns out almost everything in
our lives these days has a chip in it,
and that's why the passage of the chips
and Science Act is so incredibly important.
This is America investing in ourselves,
not just for today,
but taking the Longview and knowing that we
are investing in ourselves and our futures.
It's going to enhance our
technological leadership.
It's going to create good paying
jobs and it's going to make sure
that we stay a leader and that we're
competitive throughout the world.
You're right.
Global economic competition just
keeps getting fiercer and fiercer.
And what we've seen is while
in the United States,
we've always been at the forefront
of the science and the technology
and the engineering.
We have lost manufacturing
capacity over the last years,
so the Chips Act is a really,
really important investment in our
competitiveness and making sure
that we rebuild that manufacturing
capacity here at home.
It's to make sure that we've got.
Good jobs,
it's to make sure that we have leadership,
but probably most importantly,
it's to make sure that we are
resilient and we don't experience these
disruptions in the same way in the future,
and that we've learned our lesson from
what's been a really tough couple of years.
So for the past 2030 years,
Taiwan and China have heavily,
you know, invested in this industry,
and you know, that's kind of
how they got to this point and
we fell behind a little bit in
terms of in terms of production.
How does this actually impact?
Our trade with Taiwan specifically,
who makes 90% of the world's you know,
most advanced semiconductors.
Well. Korea is also an important player here.
At the Dutch are also important players,
so you know there are some
key important players.
What we want to make sure is that we're
not just leading in terms of the design
of our semiconductors, but we are.
We are heavily invested in the game
of producing because as we've seen
through the past couple of years,
you know you've got to have a
critical level of manufacturing.
Activity going on to make sure that
when crises come up you can pivot.
You can scale up and also in terms of
your trade flows that we've just got
more options than we do right now.
So in terms of the relationship
with our other countries,
you know there are partnerships that we need
to form and you know we're also competing.
So all of this is focused on
strengthening America's position as an
economic competitor and making sure
that we stay on the cutting edge of.
Technological leadership.
Now we're talking about this because
Central Texas, Texas as a whole.
But really, Central Texas is a major
United States hub for semiconductor
manufacturing as well as the
innovation development part of it too.
So how does all of this kind
of affect central Texans?
Why should people in Austin
care or people you know in the
suburbs of Austin Care about this?
The people of Austin should especially
care about this and celebrate this
because this is going to be like a
supercharged shot of momentum for all
the leadership and all the capacities
that are already in Central Texas.
We are expecting to see only more growth,
more investment, more jobs,
and more opportunity.
This really is part of President Biden's
vision for American manufacturing and
American competitiveness that we have.
Incredible talent.
We have incredible resources and
if we just channel our energies
to invest in ourselves, really,
there's nothing that we can't accomplish.
And one last thing,
China was obviously very against us.
You know pursuing this bill
and passing this bill.
How does this affect our trade
relationship when so many of our
other products come from China?
Well look, we are in fierce
competition with China and the the
Chinese are and have been steadily
investing in themselves for decades.
I think that you know this is an
investment that we need to do for us,
but it is also the kind of investment
that we need to do to stay competitive,
especially in areas where China is concerned.
So I'm really delighted that
we had bipartisan partnership.
And support in the US Congress to work with
President Biden and our administration.
And I also know that the state of
Texas and Texas State leadership was
supportive of this legislation as well.
So I just see this as a huge win for the
American economy and our competitiveness.
Is there anything else you want to
add about the chips and Science Act?
Anything that I missed in terms of the
geopolitical ramifications of this?
Because this is a big bill.
It's a huge bill.
Look what I would say is this.
This is a huge accomplishment,
but we can't rest on our laurels when it
comes to international economic competition.
It's fierce out there.
There are a lot of smart people in the world.
We've got a run for our money,
but with these types of investments
and what I want to say is the
Chips Act is really important.
We got to do more of this and
we've got to be smart about it.
We've got to do it in a way
that's true to our principles
of democracy and open markets,
but you know, if we can stay focused
on investing in ourselves in the
future of the American economy,
we are going to be able to compete.
And, you know,
we're going to be as
strong as we've ever been.
I'm sorry actually you have one more.
It's really just asking.
We've seen that this is obviously
a big deal, but from experts
in the field industry leaders,
they're telling they're saying that this
cannot be a one off situation that this
needs to be a continued investment.
From your perspective, do you think
that that will actually be the case?
That this is not just a one time
injection of $52 billion into the
manufacturing innovation particles?
He said if we can keep replicating
this for other industries,
especially ones where we're facing really,
really stiff competition from economies
that are not structured like ours
that are much more focused and state
directed that that is the key to
American competitiveness going forward.
So you know, I think that we just got to.
We just got to keep doing what we're
doing and you know the growth that we're
going to see the creation of jobs.
The leadership in the international.
Economy, there's really the sky
is the limit for the American
economy for American talent,
and our future is very bright.
Let's make a habit of this.