U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who has been leading the Joe Biden administration’s efforts to limit China’s progress in developing and using advanced chips, now says the effort is a “fool’s errand.”
“It would be foolish to try to stop China,” Raimondo told the Wall Street Journal, adding that investments in building chip supply chains would be more effective against tech rival Beijing than export controls.
Raimondo said the export controls were just a “speed bump” for China and did not slow the country’s pursuit of technological dominance or its progress in building semiconductor capabilities.
“The only way to beat China is to stay ahead… We have to run faster and out-innovate them. That’s how to win,” Raimondo told the Wall Street Journal.
Raimondo’s comments came before President-elect Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Trump has been a strong critic of Biden’s chip bill, which allocates billions of dollars to U.S. and foreign chip manufacturers to boost semiconductor investment in the United States.
“You didn’t have to put in 10 cents. You could have done it through a series of tariffs,” Trump said during the campaign, and has since pledged to cut chip funding promised under the bill.
Earlier this month, Raimondo said it was a “terrible” and “reckless” idea that would only benefit China.
Read the full report: wall street journal.