Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) authored the following op-ed in the Dallas Morning News sounding the alarm on the AI and semiconductor manufacturing race with China that will determine who controls the future of the world and highlighting the success of his CHIPS for America Act, legislation he authored with Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) that was funded through the CHIPS and Science Act, in reshoring semiconductor manufacturing:
The global competition for the future of artificial intelligence, or AI, is quickly becoming a two-way race between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. Technology is evolving rapidly in life-changing ways and which of these two nations wins this race could determine the economic, political and even cultural future of the world.
Amid this technological revolution, the CHIPS for America Act, which I led with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., back in 2020, and the funding included in the subsequent CHIPS and Science Act, have proven to be fortuitous investments in the infrastructure that will underpin the next digital age.
AI models, including large language models and other AI systems, rely on enormous numbers of low-latency computers. This infrastructure requires unthinkable quantities of semiconductors. Whoever can manufacture these high-powered chips quickly and at a reasonable price will dominate the AI playing field.
The two-way AI race has many layers, some with the United States ahead, and others where China leads. Right now, the United States has a slight advantage over China on advanced semiconductor design. However, when it comes to actually building the infrastructure that AI relies on, such as the fabs that produce semiconductors, America has fallen behind.
Today, 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors are manufactured in Taiwan, a dramatic shift from the 1990s, when the United States produced nearly 40% of the world’s semiconductors.
How did the United States go from producing nearly half of the world’s semiconductors to only 12% today? The answer lies in the aggressive approach that the Chinese government has taken toward critical manufacturing infrastructure and complex supply chains. And what they can’t produce domestically, they coerce others to produce for them in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America at dramatically low prices with very little regard to working conditions.
With Chinese leader Xi Jinping threatening to take over Taiwan as soon as 2027, it matters whether the United States has the infrastructure to support the modern digital economy.
Consider that Iran has been able to essentially shut down oil commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, leading to higher gas prices in the United States. The Chinese Communist Party could do essentially the same thing for free and open economies by invading Taiwan and shutting off the West’s access to the chips that power nearly all modern devices — mobile phones, smart watches, computers, TVs, cars, washing machines and more.
The United States has a fighting chance in this race because of the significant investment we made in semiconductors through the CHIPS for America Act and CHIPS and Science Act. Together, these laws provided $40 billion in direct manufacturing incentives for semiconductors and $13 billion for research and workforce development.
A large percentage of the funding from CHIPS went to building fabrication facilities also capable of manufacturing core memory, which will help companies quickly scale to meet the needs of the AI boom.
Back home on the Silicon Prairie, companies have used this funding to build new semiconductor fabrication plants at Samsung, Texas Instruments and many more. Texas Instruments was awarded $1.6 billion in funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, which allowed the company to construct new wafer fabrication facilities. GlobalWafers, also a participant in the CHIPS for America program, announced a joint investment with Micron on Thursday that will expand its wafer manufacturing facility in Sherman.
Spurred by our federal legislation, the Texas legislature passed the Texas Chips Act in 2023 to further invest in the Texas chips industry, which now boasts the second largest semiconductor workforce in the country. Other states should harness this same opportunity to build on these federal investments and attract further private sector investment and high-paying jobs.
The implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act has not been perfect. The Biden administration hijacked CHIPS to further its own DEI political agenda and other unrelated policies, undermining Congress’ intent and diluting the resources made available.
Luckily, the Trump administration has refocused the program toward actually reshoring this critical supply chain. Some projects have been held up because of state environmental regulations and permitting delays that Congress should address through permitting reform. But the purpose of our legislation was to spur investment in these critical infrastructure projects, not to implement a government command economy in the model of China.
I’m proud that the CHIPS for America Act and CHIPS and Science Act have proven to be contributors to reshoring America’s manufacturing in an industry that will determine who controls the future of the world. This legislation has not only been successful in kickstarting this growth, but has equipped the United States of America to lead in one of the generation-defining technological revolutions in human history.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Judiciary, Intelligence, Foreign Relations, and Budget Committees.
Information source: Office of Senator Cornyn.
Original Article:
CHIPS Act will help America win the AI race with China
Senator John Cornyn
Dallas Morning News
July 10, 2026
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/cornyn-ai-race-chips-act-22340332.php
