President Biden on Tuesday signed legislation that will pump more than US$50 billion into research and manufacturing of semiconductor chips.
“Today America is delivering, and I honest to God believe that 50, 75, 100 years from now, people who will look back on this week, they’ll know that we met this moment,” Biden said ahead of signing the CHIPS and Science Act, short for Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act. The ceremony was attended by chief executives of Lockheed Martin, Intel, HP, Micron, and Advanced Micro Devices, along with union leaders and lawmakers.
The legislation provides $10 billion to invest in regional technology hubs across the country and a 25% investment tax credit for expenses for manufacturing of semiconductors and related equipment. It also authorizes roughly $100 billion in spending over five years on scientific research, including more than $80 billion for the National Science Foundation.
The draft bill not only covers wafer manufacturing R&D and factory construction subsidies, tax incentives, etc., but also proposes additional restrictions. It proposes that companies that receive subsidies from the United States be barred from investing in process technologies below 28nm in China during the subsidy period to ensure that the CHIPS Act protects the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry.
