The long US presidential election campaign is well underway, and Joe Biden can use all the good economic news he can get. The economy, or at least voters' perception of it, will have a lot to do with his chances for reelection.

In March, employers created more than 300,000 jobs and unemployment stood at 3.8%. At the same time, March's inflation rate rose a bit over February and it's anyone's guess when interest rates will come down.

One thing the president is convinced of is the importance of semiconductor chips — and making those chips in the US. In 2022, the government passed the CHIPS and Science Act and is now squeezing out every dollar it can to attract manufacturers, and that's adding up to be a lot of dollars.

Today, semiconductors power much of our modern life, from smartphones, vehicles and satellites to military equipment, data centers and generative artificial intelligence.

Though semiconductor chips were invented in America, manufacturing has mostly moved elsewhere. Currently, most high-end semiconductor chips are made in Taiwan. Only about 10% of chips are made in the US, and none of the most advanced ones. Even superchips designed in the US by the likes of Nvidia, are made elsewhere.

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One problem with this system is the vulnerability of global supply chains. Natural disasters, pandemics and human factors like embargoes and armed conflicts........

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