VP Harris seeks computer chip partners in Japan meetings

28/9/2022 14:25

        Armed with a new law that boosts U.S. support for computer chip manufacturing, Vice President Kamala Harris said the administration was looking for new investments and partnerships as she sat down with Japanese technology executives on Wednesday.
        
        The morning meeting on her last full day in Tokyo reflects the administration’s focus on boosting semiconductor manufacturing and expanding the supply chain for critical materials.
        
        The economy's vulnerability to disruptions in the flow of computer chips was revealed during the pandemic, when a shortage helped increase costs and stall the assembly of cars and other products.
        
        "The citizens and the people of our countries rely on products without even knowing sometimes how reliant those products are on semiconductor chips," Harris said during the meeting at the U.S. ambassador's residence.
        
        With China investing in computer chips of its own, the U.S. is trying to increase its domestic semiconductor manufacturing while also working to solidify its technology relationships with South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
        
        Harris said the U.S. understands that "no one country can satisfy the globe’s demand" and "it is important that we and our allies partner and coordinate in a way that allows us to grow and in a way that allows us to function at a very practical level.”