[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 183 (Friday, September 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53031-53033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20348]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

[Docket No. 210915-0189]
RIN 0694-XC084


Notice of Request for Public Comments on Risks in the 
Semiconductor Supply Chain

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Technology 
Evaluation, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') (Bureau of 
Industry (``BIS'')) led the 100-Day Supply Chain Review of 
semiconductors and advanced packaging that was mandated by Presidential 
Executive Order. On February 24, 2021, President Biden issued an 
Executive Order on ``America's Supply Chains,'' which directs several 
federal agency actions to secure and strengthen America's supply 
chains. This review, included in the White House Report ``Building 
Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and 
Fostering Broad-Based Growth'', identified numerous areas of supply 
chain vulnerabilities. The ongoing shortages in the semiconductor 
product supply chain are having an adverse impact on a wide range of 
industry sectors. With the goal of accelerating information flow across 
the various segments of the supply chain, identifying data gaps and 
bottlenecks in the supply chain, and potential inconsistent demand 
signals, the Department is seeking responses from interested parties 
(including domestic and foreign semiconductor design firms, 
semiconductor manufacturers, materials and equipment suppliers, as well 
as semiconductor intermediate and end-users) to the questions set forth 
in this notice.

DATES: The due date for filing comments is November 8, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submissions: You may submit comments, identified by docket 
number BIS 2021-0036 or RIN 0694-XC084, through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov, enter docket number BIS-2021-0036 on the home page 
and click ``search.'' The site will provide a search results page 
listing all documents associated with this docket. Find a reference to 
this notice and click on the link entitled ``Comment Now!'' (For 
further information on using https://www.regulations.gov, please 
consult the resources provided on the website by clicking on ``How to 
Use This Site.'') BIS requires commenters submitting comments via 
https://www.regulations.gov to first download a fillable form from the 
BIS website at https://bis.doc.gov/semiconductorFRN2021 and to then 
submit the filled out electronic form in https://www.regulations.gov 
when submitting comments in response to docket number BIS 2021-0036 or 
RIN 0694-XC084.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Boylan, Defense Industrial Base 
Division, Office of Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and 
Security, at 202-482-7816, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    BIS led the Department's 100 Day Supply Chain Review of 
semiconductors and advanced packaging that was mandated by Presidential 
Executive Order (E.O.) 14017. On February 24, 2021, President Biden 
issued E.O. 14017 on ``America's Supply Chains,'' which directs several 
federal agency actions to secure and strengthen America's supply 
chains.
    This review, included in the White House Report ``Building 
Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and 
Fostering Broad-Based Growth'' (available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/100-day-supply-chain-review-report.pdf) (last accessed September 3, 2021), identified 
numerous areas of supply chain vulnerabilities. In addition to the 
longer-term goals such as strengthening the domestic semiconductor 
manufacturing ecosystem and promoting U.S. leadership, this report 
called upon the Department to partner with industry to facilitate 
information flow between semiconductor producers and suppliers and end-
users to address the current semiconductor shortage. The ongoing 
shortage of semiconductor products is having an adverse impact on a 
wide range of industry sectors.
    With the goal of facilitating the flow of information across the 
various segments of the supply chain, identifying data gaps and 
bottlenecks in the supply chain, and potential inconsistent demand 
signals, the Department is seeking responses from interested parties 
(including domestic and foreign semiconductor design firms, 
semiconductor and microelectronics manufacturers, materials and 
equipment suppliers, as well as semiconductor

[[Page 53032]]

product intermediate and end-users) to the questions set forth in this 
notice.
    Information submitted in response to this request may contain 
business proprietary information, which will not be published and will 
be protected from disclosure, provided the submitters follow the 
instructions below for submitting confidential business information in 
the public comments.

Written Comments

    Interested parties are invited to submit written comments, data, 
analyses, or information pertinent to this request to BIS's Office of 
Technology Evaluation no later than November 8, 2021.
    While the Department invites input from all interested parties, it 
is particularly interested in obtaining information from foreign and 
domestic entities that actively participate in the semiconductor 
product supply chain at any level (e.g., semiconductor design, front 
end semiconductor wafer fabrication, semiconductor assembly test and 
packaging, microelectronics assembly, intermediate and end-users of 
semiconductors and microelectronics, distributors of such products, as 
well as entities supporting semiconductor and microelectronics 
manufacturing as providers of materials and equipment). To allow for 
aggregation and comparison of data from multiple respondents, the 
Department has posted a fillable form on the BIS website that 
commenters must download and fill out for submission to https://www.regulations.gov. See the ADDRESSES section of this notice for where 
to find the fillable forms.
    The Department is specifically seeking the following information 
and data:
    1. For semiconductor product design, front and back-end 
manufacturers and microelectronics assemblers, and their suppliers and 
distributors:
    a. Identify your company's role in the semiconductor product supply 
chain.
    b. Indicate the technology nodes (in nanometers), semiconductor 
material types, and device types that this organization is capable of 
providing (design and/or manufacture).
    c. For any integrated circuits you produce--whether fabricated at 
your own facilities or elsewhere--identify the primary integrated 
circuit type, product type, relevant technology nodes (in nanometers), 
and actuals or estimates of annual sales for the years 2019, 2020, and 
2021 based on anticipated end use.
    d. For the semiconductor products that your organization sells, 
identify those with the largest order backlog. Then for the total and 
for each product, identify the product attributes, sales in the past 
month, and location of fabrication and package/assembly.
    i. List each product's top three current customers and the 
estimated percentage of that product's sales accounted for by each 
customer.
    e. For each phase of the production process, identify whether your 
organization carries out the step internally or externally. For your 
organization's top semiconductor products, estimate each product's (a) 
2019 lead time and (b) current lead time (in days), both overall and 
for each phase of the production process. Provide an explanation of any 
current delays or bottlenecks.
    f. For your organization's top semiconductor products, list each 
product's typical and current inventory (in days), for finished 
product, in-progress product, and inbound product. Provide an 
explanation for any changes in inventory practices.
    g. What are the primary disruptions or bottlenecks that have 
affected your ability to provide products to customers in the last 
year?
    h. What is your organization's book-to-bill ratio for the past 
three years? Explain any changes.
    i. If the demand for your products exceeds your capacity, what is 
the primary method by which your organization allocates the available 
supply?
    j. Does your organization have available capacity? If yes, what is 
preventing the filling of that capacity?
    k. Is your organization considering increasing its capacity? If 
yes, in what ways, over what timeframe, and what impediments exist to 
such an increase? What factors does your organization consider when 
evaluating whether to increase capacity?
    l. Has your organization changed its material and/or equipment 
purchasing levels or practices in the past three years?
    m. What single change (and to which portion of the supply chain) 
would most significantly increase your ability to supply semiconductor 
products in the next six months?
    2. Questions for intermediate users and end users of semiconductor 
products or integrated circuits:
    a. Identify your type of business and the types of products you 
sell.
    b. What are the (general) applications for the semiconductor 
products and integrated circuits that you purchase?
    c. For the semiconductor products that your organization purchases, 
identify those that present the greatest challenge for your 
organization to acquire. Then for each product, identify the product 
attributes and purchases in 2019 and 2021, as well as average monthly 
orders in 2021. Then estimate the quantity of each product your 
organization would purchase in the next six months barring any 
production constraints as well as the amount your organization expects 
to actually be able to purchase. For each of your organization's top 
semiconductor products, estimate each product's lead times and your 
organization's inventory for (a) 2019 and (b) currently (in days). 
Provide an explanation of any current delays or bottlenecks.
    d. What are the primary disruptions or bottlenecks that have 
affected your ability to provide products to customers in the last 
year?
    e. Is your organization limiting production due to lack of 
available semiconductors? Explain.
    f. What percentage of your current production has your organization 
had to defer, delay, reject, or suspend in the past year? Explain.
    g. Is your organization considering or carrying out new investments 
to mitigate semiconductor sourcing difficulties? Explain.
    h. What semiconductor product types are most in short supply and by 
what estimated percentage relative to your demand? What is your view of 
the root cause?
    i. Has your organization changed its material and/or equipment 
purchasing levels or practices in the past three years?
    j. What single change (and to which portion of the supply chain) 
would most significantly increase your ability to purchase 
semiconductors in the next six months?
    k. What percentage of your orders are fulfilled by distributors 
versus through direct purchase orders to semiconductor product 
manufacturers?
    l. For the semiconductor products your organization purchases, how 
long (in months) are the typical purchase commitments? How, if at all, 
do your organization's purchase commitments differ for products in 
short supply?
    m. Has your organization faced ``de-commits'' (defined as a 
notification from a supplier that expected or committed supply will not 
be delivered in the agreed-upon time and quantity) in recent months? If 
this is a significant issue, please explain (e.g., nature of product, 
supplier, impact).

Requirements for Written Comments

    The https://www.regulations.gov website allows users to provide 
comments by filling in a ``Type Comment'' field, or by attaching a 
document using an ``Upload File'' field.

[[Page 53033]]

As noted above, commenters will be required to use the BIS fillable 
form available on the BIS website when submitting comments in https://www.regulations.gov. The Department prefers that any additional 
comments be provided in a separate attached document. The Department 
prefers supplemental submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc files) or 
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf files). If the submission is in an application 
format other than Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or Adobe Acrobat, 
please indicate the name of the application in the ``Type Comment'' 
field. Please do not attach separate cover letters to electronic 
submissions; rather, include any information that might appear in a 
cover letter within the comments. Similarly, to the extent possible, 
please include any exhibits, annexes, or other attachments in the same 
file, so that the submission consists of one supplemental file instead 
of multiple additional files. Comments (both public comments and non-
confidential versions of comments containing business confidential 
information) will be placed in the docket and open to public 
inspection. Comments may be viewed on https://www.regulations.gov by 
entering docket number BIS-2021-0036 in the search field on the home 
page.
    All filers should name their files using the name of the person or 
entity submitting the comments. Anonymous comments are also accepted. 
Communications from agencies of the United States Government will not 
be made available for public inspection.
    Anyone submitting business confidential information should clearly 
identify the business confidential portion at the time of submission, 
file a statement justifying nondisclosure and referring to the specific 
legal authority claimed, and provide a non-confidential version of the 
submission. The BIS fillable form available on the BIS website 
referenced above will allow for an indication at the top of each page 
for whether it contains business confidential information. Users 
submitting a form that contains business confidential information, will 
need to submit a non-confidential version of the same form that does 
not contain the confidential business information. The non-confidential 
version of the submission will be placed in the public file on https://www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted electronically containing 
business confidential information, the file name of the business 
confidential version should begin with the characters ``BC''. Any page 
containing business confidential information must be clearly marked 
``BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL'' on the top of that page. The non-confidential 
version must be clearly marked ``PUBLIC''. The file name of the non-
confidential version should begin with the character ``P''. The ``BC'' 
and ``P'' should be followed by the name of the person or entity 
submitting the comments or rebuttal comments. If a public hearing is 
held in support of this assessment, a separate Federal Register notice 
will be published providing the date and information about the hearing.
    BIS does not maintain a separate public inspection facility. 
Requesters should first view the BIS's web page, which can be found at 
https://efoia.bis.doc.gov/ (see ``Electronic FOIA'' heading). If 
requesters cannot access the website, they may call 202-482-0795 for 
assistance. The records related to this assessment are made accessible 
in accordance with the regulations published in part 4 of title 15 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR 4.1 through 4.11).

Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2021-20348 Filed 9-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P