As foreign governments take big steps to advance their domestic semiconductor capabilities, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) request U.S. government leaders to increase investments.

In a set of government policy recommendations for sustaining and strengthening America’s leadership in semiconductor technology, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), urges U.S. government leaders to significantly increase investments in semiconductor research, help attract and develop the world’s most skilled technology workforce, and ensure open markets and strong protection of intellectual property.

The Semiconductor Industry Association is led by Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, and its members include Intel, Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm, GlobalFoundries and more.

“Global technology leadership has never been more important, with so much at stake for America’s future economic growth and competitiveness,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and CEO of Micron Technology and 2019 SIA chair. “The country that leads in semiconductor innovation will also lead the next wave of technology advances, influencing every aspect of the economy and life. We call upon our leaders in Washington to enact policies that will keep us at the forefront of the must-win technologies of the future.”

SIA says that overseas governments such as China’s are seeking to challenge U.S. leadership by making significant investments to achieve breakthroughs in semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

SIA identifies three domestic policy areas – research, workforce, and trade/IP protection – where urgent government action is needed to ensure America rises to these challenges and sustains its global leadership in semiconductor technology and the technologies semiconductors enable.

The association calls for tripling federal investments in semiconductor-specific research over the next five years from approximately $1.5 billion to $5 billion annually and doubling federal funding for semiconductor-related research from about $20 billion to $40 billion annually in fields such as materials science, computer science, engineering, and applied mathematics across federal scientific agencies.

The semiconsuctor companies also urge increasing federal funding for STEM education by 50 percent over the next five years from more than $1 billion to over $1.5 billion annually and implementing a national STEM education initiative to double the number of American STEM graduates by 2029.

They also urge approval of free trade agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, that remove market barriers, protect IP, and enable fair competition. SIA also calls for increased resources for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent and prosecute semiconductor IP theft.