Biden to sign Chips Act China competition bill
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President Joe Biden on Tuesday is set to sign a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen U.S. competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and science research.
Tech executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties will join Biden at a 10 a.m. ET signing ceremony, the White House said.
The bill, dubbed the Chips and Science Act, includes more than $52 billion for U.S. companies producing computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development, and to spur the innovation and development of other U.S. tech.
The Biden administration also contended that the legislation will “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry. The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.
From left, Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, are seen after a bill enrollment ceremony for the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022, on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Friday, July 29, 2022.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc | Getty Images
Of that sum, $40 billion is coming from Micron‘s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative will yield 8,000 new jobs and boost the U.S. market share of memory chip production to 10% from 2%.
A newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility, the White House said.
Advocates say the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and reinvigorate its lagging chip industry. The U.S. produces only about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, whereas east Asia accounts for 75% of global production — including most of the top-tier chips, according to the White House.
Semiconductors are critical pieces of an array of products including consumer electronics, automobiles, health care equipment and weapons systems. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a chip shortage and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s dependence on foreign-made chips and revealing a potential national security threat, officials say.
The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats cap a flurry of activity before lawmakers leave Washington for the rest of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns.
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