President Joe Biden has signed a bill announcing $52.7 billion in subsidies for semiconductor production and research in the US. The bill also aims to make the United States more capable of competing with China’s science and technology efforts.
The chief executives of Micron, Intel, Lockheed Martin, HP, and Advanced Micro Devices attended the signing. The governors of Pennsylvania and Illinois, the mayors of Detroit, Cleveland, and Salt Lake City, and several lawmakers were also present.
The White House commented that the passage of the bill had spurred new investments in chips. Recently, Qualcomm has consented to buy an additional $4.2 billion in semiconductor chips from GlobalFoundries’ New York factory. It has brought Qualcomm’s total commitment to $7.4 billion in purchases through 2028.
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The White House also touted Micron by announcing a $40 billion investment in memory chip manufacturing. This would boost the US market share from 2% to 10%. The White House said the investment was planned with anticipated grants from the chips bill.
The bill also introduces a 25% investment tax credit for chip plants, which is estimated to be worth $24 billion. The legislation also authorizes $200 billion over ten years to boost US scientific research to compete proactively with China. Congress still needs to pass appropriations legislation in order to fund those investments.
The legislation aims to address the persistent shortage of chips that has affected everything in the industry, including cars, weapons, washing machines, etc. China has lobbied against the semiconductor bill. The Chinese Embassy in Washington said that their country firmly opposed the chips bill, calling it reminiscent of a Cold War mentality.
