The White House held a confidential briefing with some members of Congress on Wednesday to discuss the dire risks to the U.S. economy posed by semiconductor supply chain issues. The White House is pushing Congress to allocate $52 billion to subsidize semiconductor production.

"The most optimistic estimate is that a semiconductor shortfall could lead to a full percentage point decline in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021," Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters, according to Reuters.

The White House said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, and National Security Assistant Jake Sullivan participated in the briefing "to discuss the urgent need to invest in U.S.-made semiconductors, as well as to protect our economy and our nation. Safe research and development.”

A persistent shortage of chips across the industry has disrupted production in the automotive and electronics industries, forcing some companies to scale back production. There are growing calls to reduce reliance on other countries' semiconductors.

"Severe disruptions to our semiconductor supply could cause historic damage to the U.S. economy — far greater than the current chip shortage is affecting the U.S. auto industry — and will erode our technological competitiveness and military capabilities relative to global adversaries," the White House said. Advantage."

After months of discussions, the White House has been urging Congress to approve U.S. subsidies for semiconductor chip manufacturing.

The Senate, which first passed $52 billion in chip funding in June, also authorized $190 billion to bolster U.S. technology and research to compete with China. The House passed the version in early February. Deese said he hoped both the House and Senate would name negotiators this week to "quickly" begin the formal process to hammer out a compromise bill.

"The risks are enormous," Deese said of the severe disruption to the U.S. economy. He also referred to "economic moves by major competitors - particularly by China around escalating vulnerabilities to the semiconductor issue".

A Commerce Department analysis for the briefing seen by Reuters noted that semiconductor fabs will take years to build. "There are no quick fixes in an emergency," the report said, noting that private sector investment in U.S. chip production was not sufficient, nor "sufficient to mitigate risks associated with current U.S. supply chain vulnerabilities."