The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a notice seeking public comment on the risks in the semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging supply chains. This request is a direct result of President Joseph Biden’s recent Executive Order 14017 and the need for resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains for critical and essential goods. Under the Executive Order, the president has directed numerous departments and agencies to submit reports within 100 days on certain findings and policy recommendations. See Update of February 28, 2021 for additional details. Accordingly, the Secretary of Commerce must submit such a report identifying the risks in the semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging supply chains and propose policy recommendations to address these risks.

BIS is seeking comments and information from the public to assist in preparing the report. In particular, comments on the following elements are encouraged:

  1. Critical and essential goods and materials underlying the semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging supply chain;
  2. Manufacturing and other capabilities necessary to produce semiconductors, including electronic design automation software and advanced integrated circuit packaging techniques and capabilities;
  3. The availability of the key skill sets and personnel necessary to sustain a competitive U.S. semiconductor ecosystem;
  4. Risks or contingencies that may disrupt the semiconductor supply chain (including defense, intelligence, cyber, homeland security, health, climate, environmental, natural, market, economic, geopolitical, human-rights or forced labor risks);
  5. The resilience and capacity of the semiconductor supply chain to support national and economic security and emergency preparedness;
  6. Potential impact of the failure to sustain or develop elements of the semiconductor supply chain in the United States on other key downstream capabilities, as well as the potential impact of purchases of semi-conductor finished products by downstream customers;
  7. Policy recommendations or suggested executive, legislative, regulatory changes, or actions to ensure a resilient supply chain for semiconductors (e.g., reshoring, nearshoring, or developing domestic suppliers, cooperation with allies to identify or develop alternative supply chains, building redundancy into supply chains, ways to address risks due to vulnerabilities in digital products or climate change);
  8. Any additional comments relevant to the assessment of the semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packing supply chains required by the Executive Order.

For full details on each element, please refer directly to the notice.

Comments will be accepted until April 5, 2021. All written comments must be submitted on BIS Docket No. BIS-2021-0011, addressed to “Semiconductor Manufacturing Supply Chain” and filed through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. The notice provides further details on filing any comments and the handling of any business confidential information. Thompson Hine attorneys and professionals have extensive experience in filing regulatory comments.