Why the Chips Act Signals a Return to ‘Industrial Policy’ | WSJ

Concerns about China’s growth in chip manufacturing has helped create bipartisan consensus for boosting U.S. microchip production. The $53 billion Chips Act seeks to end the U.S.’s reliance on foreign-made semiconductors, especially those used by the Pentagon.

After the end of the Cold War, industrial policy fell out of favor in Washington, but pandemic-induced supply chain shocks have created a new example of the federal government using its cash to remake an industry it sees as crucial to national security.

0:00 How new technologies are usually government funded
1:01 Industrial policy, explained
3:24 Why the U.S. is heavily focused on the chip industry
6:26 Effectiveness of industrial policy: will the Chips Act achieve its goal?

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