Biden tours a computer chip plant in South Korea
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — President Joe Biden opened his trip to Asia on Friday by touring a South Korean computer chip factory that will be the model for a plant in Taylor, holding it out as an illustration of how deeper ties with the Indo Pacific can fuel technological innovation and foster vibrant democracies.
“So much of the future of the world is going to be written here, in the Indo Pacific, over the next several decades,” Biden said. “This is the moment, in my view, to invest in one another to deepen our business ties, to bring our people even closer together.”
Biden’s message was pitched toward the promise of a better global tomorrow, yet also aimed at U.S. voters amid political challenges at home — such as inflation driven higher by the chip shortage — as he tries to show his administration is delivering on the economy.
The Democrat’s first visit to Asia as president came as polling released Friday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found Biden’s U.S. approval rating at 39 percent, the lowest of his presidency. The survey also found deepening pessimism about the economy and the state of the United States — especially among Democrats.
About 2 in 10 U.S. adults said the country is headed in the right direction or described the economy as good, down from about 3 in 10 in April. Among Democrats, just 33 percent said the country is on the right track, down from 49 percent last month.
Samsung, the South Korea chip plant’s owner, last November announced plans to open a $17 billion semiconductor factory in Taylor. A semiconductor shortage last year hurt the availability of autos, kitchen appliances and other goods, causing higher inflation worldwide and crippling Biden’s public approval among U.S. voters. The president noted that the Texas plant would add 3,000 high-tech jobs and the construction would include union labor.
“These little chips,” Biden said in remarks after he toured the plant, “are the key to propelling us into the next era of humanity’s technological development.”
The president is seeking to promote greater business collaboration among democracies with overlapping values, seeing it as way to maintain the benefits of a globalized economy in a way that benefits American workers and leads to greater foreign investment in the U.S.
Global computer chip sales totaled $151.7 billion during the first three months of this year, a 23 percent jump from the same period in 2021, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.
More than 75 percent of global chip production comes from Asia.
Samsung announced the plant in Taylor, Texas, in November 2021. It hopes to begin operation in the second half of 2024.
The White House said in a fact sheet that semiconductor companies have announced nearly $80 billion in U.S. investments through 2025. That sum includes $20 billion for Intel’s plant outside Columbus, Ohio, up to $30 billion by Texas Instruments, a $1 billion expansion by Wolfspeed in New York and investments by Global Foundries and SK Group.