Semiconductors Key to US Supremacy in High-Tech War

An employee makes chips at a factory of Jiejie Semiconductor Co. in Nantong, in China's Jiangsu Province, on March 17, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The global semiconductor shortage during the pandemic has intensified the battle for technological dominance between the world’s two largest economies.

Supply chain shocks and growing tensions with China are forcing the U.S. government to enter the subsidy war to protect American leadership in semiconductors and future technologies.