I think you're right. Semiconductor manufacturing is not a particularly employee-dense business, and the US must sustain power projection in the South China Sea

I think you're right. Semiconductor manufacturing is not a particularly employee-dense business, and the US must sustain power projection in the South China Sea and on the Korean Peninsula in the status quo, all the time, rain or shine. Even if you don't think about the product and supply chain, but only look at externalities, the US is less trapped in a battle of brinkmanship over Taiwan and South Korea if it has an alternative source of semiconductors in case of emergency. Keeping critical tech manufacturing in the Americas actually makes it easier for us to protect our allies in the Asia-Pacific region, by giving us less reason to make aggressive-looking moves that can be misinterpreted as offensive by China. Still, there is a clear economic benefit from such a move closer to home, even in times of peace and predictability. The US economy is all about outsourcing the basement and keeping the penthouse. But the hosts of our outsourced industry can "tech up," so to speak. If we let Asia-Pacific totally dominate the semiconductor fabrication industry, it's only a matter of time before they dominate the semiconductor design industry as well.