{"id":406544,"date":"2021-11-26T16:44:20","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T16:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=8e00e58f90db5d66d71113c5303e3b81"},"modified":"2021-11-26T16:44:20","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T16:44:20","slug":"communications-and-electronics-lobbying-skyrockets-amid-microchip-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/11\/26\/communications-and-electronics-lobbying-skyrockets-amid-microchip-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Communications and Electronics Lobbying Skyrockets Amid Microchip Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Samsung<\/a>

During an ongoing global semiconductor shortage that has stifled smartphone and car companies alike, the <\/span>communications and electronics<\/a> <\/span>sector spent <\/span>15.1%<\/a> <\/span>more on federal lobbying during the third quarter than the same period last year, bringing its 2021 total to <\/span>$362.1 million<\/a>. It was the largest lobbying spending increase experienced by any sector this quarter. <\/p>\n

Semiconductors, or semiconductor microchips, are an essential component of electronic devices. Over the course of this year, industry demand for the chips has outstripped their supply, causing some chipmakers to deepen their U.S. investments. <\/p>\n

In March, President <\/span>Joe Biden<\/a> <\/span>called on Congress<\/a> <\/span>to invest $50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research. He received <\/span>$133 million<\/a> <\/span>from the communications and electronics industry during the 2020 campaign cycle, making it the <\/span>fourth highest spending<\/a> <\/span>sector to contribute to his campaign.<\/p>\n

Tech company <\/span>Samsung<\/a> <\/span>announced Tuesday it will build a semiconductor factory in Taylor, a city just outside of Austin, Texas. One of the world\u2019s largest makers of electronic devices, the company also spent <\/span>$2.9 million<\/a> <\/span>this year on federal lobbying. During the third quarter alone, the company spent <\/span>$1.1 million<\/a> <\/span>\u2014 more than it has any other third quarter in its history. <\/p>\n

The <\/span>electronics manufacturing and equipment<\/a> <\/span>industry <\/span>spent the most<\/a> <\/span>in the communications and electronics sector. Its industry groups have lobbied <\/span>$135.1 million<\/a> <\/span>so far this year. The industry experienced its largest third quarter lobbying spend yet, spending $46.1 million \u2014 a nearly $10 million increase from the same period last year.<\/p>\n

Other electronics giants moving to chip in include <\/span>Intel<\/a>, who in March announced it would build a pair of new factories in Arizona. Intel has spent <\/span>$4.9 million<\/a> <\/span>on federal lobbying this year despite spending only <\/span>$1 million<\/a> <\/span>this past quarter.<\/p>\n

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing<\/a> <\/span>began construction on an <\/span>Arizona facility<\/a> <\/span>in June, and has spent <\/span>$1.7 million<\/a> <\/span>on federal lobbying efforts this year \u2014 an over $200,000 increase compared to this period last year. <\/p>\n

Earlier this month, <\/span>Texas Instruments<\/a> <\/span>announced plans for new semiconductor plants in Sherman, Tex. The tech company has spent just over <\/span>$1 million<\/a> <\/span>on lobbying efforts so far this year, tying with the <\/span>Semiconductor Industry Association<\/a>, a lobbying group that represents the United States semiconductor industry.<\/p>\n

Amazon.com<\/a> <\/span>is the largest client lobbying in the communications and electronics industry, spending a total of <\/span>$15.3 million<\/a> <\/span>during the first three quarters of 2021. The Seattle-based company, which <\/span>produces its own line<\/a> <\/span>of semiconductor chips, spent over <\/span>$5 million<\/a> <\/span>on federal lobbying during the third quarter alone.<\/p>\n

The communications and electronics sector has contributed <\/span>$20.6 million<\/a> <\/span>to members of Congress this year. Of that, nearly 73% went to Democrats and 27% went to Republicans. So far, the sector has given the most to Senate Majority Leader <\/span>Chuck Schumer<\/a> <\/span>(D-NY), a total of <\/span>$1.8 million<\/a>. Sen. Schumer sponsored the <\/span>United States Innovation and Competition Act<\/a>, a bill that passed the Senate in June, which would invest <\/span>$52 billion<\/a> <\/span>for domestic semiconductor manufacturing to help reduce U.S. reliance on foreign semiconductor producers.<\/p>\n

Within the communications and electronics sector, clients from the <\/span>telecom<\/a> <\/span>and <\/span>internet<\/a> <\/span>industries spent record-high amounts on federal lobbying. <\/span>Telecom services and equipment<\/a> <\/span>bested its previous third quarters numbers with $26.1 million, for a total of <\/span>$81.5 million<\/a> <\/span>this year. The internet industry followed suit and added $23.2 million to its now <\/span>$67.6 million<\/a> <\/span>2021 federal lobbying total.<\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Latest \u2013 Truthout<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Samsung<\/a><\/p>\n

The communications and electronics sector has contributed\u00a0$20.6 million\u00a0to members of Congress this year.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10325,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2043,1386,4,369,1737],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406544"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406545,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406544\/revisions\/406545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}