President Joe Biden began his five-day Asia trip with a visit to a Samsung semiconductor plant, a stop meant to demonstrate the growing cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea on technology and other issues. Biden used the stop to advocate for final passage of a bipartisan bill that the White House says will reduce costs for Americans and help to ease inflation if congressional negotiators can reach a deal. The legislation is intended to boost chip production and guard against future interruptions to the supply chain. "Over the last few years, we've seen just how critical it is," Biden said after a tour of the Samsung facility with South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl. "The COVID 19 pandemic exposed the fragility of just-in-time supply chains." Biden said the global semiconductor shortage and Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine are contributing to higher prices, and the U.S. would work with close partners like South Korea to strengthen its economy. Legislation is also pending in Congress to bolster U.S. chip production to better compete with China. The plant that Biden toured is serving as the blueprint for a $17 billion facility the electronics company plans to open near Austin, Texas. That investment will mean good-paying jobs for Americans and increased supply chain resilience, said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Biden, Sullivan said, will reinforce "that this ecosystem of high technology among democracies and free societies needs to be protected against predation by other countries."