Posted on 06/02/2003 9:34:12 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
WASHINGTON -- National security as well as high-tech jobs could be endangered if the U.S. doesn't stop an accelerating offshore shift of semiconductor manufacturing to East Asian countries, including China, warned U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) today in a report delivered to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
A continuing migration of semiconductor manufacturing, along with the potential loss of research and design centers to Asian nations, poses "grave national security implications," the Democratic presidential candidate said.
If that trend continues, "the U.S. will lose the ability to reliably obtain high-end semiconductor integrated circuits from trusted sources," according to the report, titled "National Aspects of the Global Migration of the U.S. Semiconductor Industry."
In a letter to Rumsfeld that accompanied the 10-page report, Lieberman, who serves on the Senate's Armed Services Committee, said the offshore manufacturing shift is occurring "at a time when these components are becoming a crucial defense technology advantage" to the U.S.
The Chinese, in particular, are using tax incentives and subsidies to build their semiconductor production capability to help bring an end to the U.S. semiconductor industry, Lieberman said.
Reversing this trend will require a variety of actions, including the enforcement of trade rules to prevent China from discounting its chips, as well as the use of defense contracts to help build up the U.S. semiconductor industry, according to the report. It also recommends increasing research and development funding.
But Craig Casey, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University in Durham, N.C., who has advised defense agencies on electronics issues, said the shift overseas "is more of an economic than military threat."
Casey said advanced development is still going on in this country and Japan, and the U.S. remains the leader in high-performance development. Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and IBM remain the leading producers, and "not until Intel pulls up its stakes and leaves California ... then it's another game," he said.
The Semiconductor Industry Association in San Jose said worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled $12.1 billion in April, unchanged from March, but a 9.7% increase from April 2002 revenue of $11.3 billion.
Domestically, the semiconductor industry employs 284,000.
I mean really, why only flush the US partly down the toilet...
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IMO its a two pronged thing. First its corporate America that stirs fears in the Adminstration. There are certain industries that are extremely agressive in promoting China in Washington.
Secondly if we really get to it, it will probably lead the collapse of the CCP and that would be a big crisis waiting to happen. The real deal is to tone down China but not to abandon them outright.
Most people talk about China...then they get elected and run into these two brick walls.
I hope we elect someone who will really anger corporate America and stick it in their faces. Bush though can't do that right now, primarily because the economy is his achilles heel.
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I also should mention the data of the last decade shows a solid economic shift towards Asia as a whole. There has been a significant shift.
Under Clinton there was a tide set off shifting to Asia, but the only problem is that it largely does not and won't produce major results. Everyone hopes it will, but fat chance.
Its akin right now to telling people in 1999 that Yahoo! was not such a hot investment.
In the end though Leiberman is talking trash. If he were to get elected he wouldn't do a damn thing. A few industry big shots will start complaining (and threatening) and hence Leiberman would cave in record time.
I like Bush a whole lot, but if there are not 2 million new, high paying jobs HERE in the US within the next 2 years I will be glad to see him and the rest of them go.
The Senate recently voted also to end the 'buy American' provisions for US contracts... can you believe that? Its about the same as saying "I have confidence in the US worker...but then contracting out to the Chinese...
Apparently there is not that much confidence...
He's actually got a good shot at the nomination, and its all pure luck. All the lefties who control the party, are all split up between Dean, Kerry, Edwards and Gephardt, with a few kooks going to Graham. The other 2 kooks aren't doing so hot at all. With such a big split, and no united canidate. Holy Joe could pull of the nomination, you have to remember, all he needs is for them to keep splitting this up, the way they are now.
He would get murdered in the general election though, along with the rest of his party.
If we sell $10 billion worth of goods to China they can sell $10 billion to us at normal rates. If we sell $10 billion to them, but they sell $30 billion to us...the excess $20 billion difference is taxed at a 100% rate.
We can apply that across the board to everyone.
Choosing large corporate America over everyone else will change that. Workers are not tools of the corporation, or the state. Working people ARE the state. We are the life of every single corporation. We are not their sheep. But that is the way things operate.
When the average joe does good, the corporations do good. It should be a partnership. But its not.
There are ways to balance things out. Giving it all to China is not the best way to serve the US, nor its consumers, nor serves the best interests of US companies.
I don't want to buy Chinese stuff. Where is MY choice?
The whole issue of 'choice' is bogus.
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