Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) returned from an economic development trip to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, where he “met with corporate executives, business leaders, foreign dignitaries and government officials to promote Texas’ booming economy and foster the development of industries critical to the future of the global economy,” according to the Texas Economic Development Council. press release From the Texas Governor’s Office.
During Governor Abbott’s term, Texas attracted billions of dollars of new investment from Asian companies in semiconductor manufacturing, creating thousands of high-paying jobs for Texans. GlobiTech, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based GlobalWafers Corp., Establish Samsung has a manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas that supplies silicon epitaxy products to the semiconductor industry. Open a store The semiconductor manufacturing industry in Austin, Texas, is benefiting in part from Governor Abbott’s policies.
Governor Abbott has outlined the broad guidelines for a successful “America First” economic policy: If President Trump wins the presidential election, he would be wise to implement industrial policies to offset the short-term price increases that could result from his proposed across-the-board tariffs.
Governor Abbott is traveling stress Abbott spoke about the importance of AI and space exploration, and cooperation with East Asian countries, saying, “The winners of the AI race will be the winners of the world.” He also announced the establishment of a Texas office in Taipei, Taiwan, and the construction of a new Samsung steel manufacturing plant in central Texas, and emphasized the need to build economic ties with key allies, restore manufacturing in critical sectors, and reduce over-dependence on China.
“This mission helped strengthen our economic and cultural partnerships with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan,” Governor Abbott said in a press release. “As Texas looks to the future, it is critical that we continue to provide opportunities for leading companies from around the world to thrive and succeed in our great state. Visiting business and government leaders from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan will strengthen our ongoing collaboration in emerging industries for years to come. Working with our global partners across the Pacific, we will build the future of innovation.”
New Conservative Economics
American political leaders are always eager to meet with foreign leaders to bolster economic activity, but Governor Abbott’s recent visit to Asia and his stated intention to form a coalition to revitalize domestic manufacturing are among many signs of a new economic agenda taking shape on the center-right.
Like traditional neoclassical economics, this new conservative economics emphasizes supply, promotes free markets and deregulation, and encourages trade, but its statism and pragmatism allow for more interventionist industrial policies and argues for investment in research and development and subsidies to key manufacturing industries that are vital to the U.S. economic and national security interests.
“Semiconductors are the most important industry because all modern economic activity depends on them,” David P. Goldman, deputy editor of Asia Times and Washington research fellow at the Claremont Institute’s American Way of Life Center, told Blaze Media.
“There is a great need to produce chips domestically under safe conditions for use by the military and critical infrastructure. In that respect, the CHIPS Act addressed an urgent need, but not particularly well,” Goldman said. “A shortage of skilled workers and infrastructure has significantly delayed plans by TSMC and Samsung to build chip foundries in the U.S., and the price index for building new industrial plants has risen nearly 30% in response to new investments supported by the CHIPS Act. There is only so much our allies, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, can do. They need to rapidly develop skilled workers and engineers and upgrade their infrastructure. States can play a key role in training through their university systems.”
As America faced the looming threat of China and its impact on supply chains, he and many others set aside standard neoliberal economic orthodoxy and embraced a new conservative economics.
Less than a year after the Legislature passed the CHIPS Act, Governor Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act, “establishing the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium (TSIC) and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund (TSIF)… [that] Leverage[s] “The Texas Semiconductor Investment Council aims to promote investment in the Texas semiconductor industry, attract semiconductor companies to our state, further develop the expertise and capabilities of Texas’ higher education institutions, and ensure that Texas maintains its position as a national leader in semiconductor manufacturing,” the Texas Semiconductor Investment Council said in a statement. Texas Economic Development and Tourism.
When this bill was proposed, Governor Abbott It is called This is “a national race to design and build the future of semiconductors.” He continued, “Texas must win this race – for our state, our workforce, our national security and our future. This legislation will ensure Texas not only remains number one in America in semiconductors, but number one in the world.”
Since then, Texas has become one of the major hubs for semiconductor manufacturing. Governor Abbott has outlined the rough guidelines for a successful “America First” economic policy. If former President Trump wins the presidential election, he would be wise to implement industrial policies that offset the short-term price increases that could result from his proposed global tariffs. However, Trump’s global tariffs would help rebalance America’s significant trade deficit. Policies that could even cause deflation and help fund capital-intensive projects that are essential to American interests could provide long-term benefits to American industry.
The New Right’s economic policies emphasize the importance of economic security and independence from China. The visit underscores the urgency that if America wants to regain its former economic dominance, it must become number one in semiconductor manufacturing. And adopting a strong industrial policy could bring it a long way toward achieving that goal.
