Biden administration announces $6.6 billion to ensure cutting-edge microchip manufacturing in the United States
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Biden administration pledged Monday to provide up to $6.6 billion so a Taiwanese semiconductor giant can expand facilities it’s already building in Arizona and better ensuring that the most advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said funding from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. means the company can expand its existing plans for two facilities in Phoenix and add a recently announced third production center.
“These are the chips that underpin all artificial intelligence, and these are the chips that are the necessary components for the technologies that we need to support our economy,” Raimondo said on a call with reporters, adding that they were vital for the “21st century”. military and national security apparatus of the century.
The funding is tied to a sweeping 2022 law that President Joe Biden celebrated that aims to revive U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Known as the CHIPS and Science Act, the $280 billion plan aims to strengthen America’s advantage in military technology and manufacturing while minimizing the types of supply disruptions that occurred in 2021, after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when the chip shortage stopped. factory assembly lines and fueled inflation.
The Biden administration has pledged tens of billions of dollars to support the construction of U.S. chip foundries and reduce reliance on Asian suppliers, which Washington views as a security weakness.
“Semiconductors – those tiny chips smaller than the tip of your finger – power everything from smartphones and cars to satellites and weapons systems,” Biden said in a statement. “TSMC’s renewed commitment to the United States and investment in Arizona represents a broader impact. a story of semiconductor manufacturing made in America and with the strong support of America’s leading technology companies to build the products we rely on every day.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing produces almost all of the world’s cutting-edge electronic chips and plans to eventually do so in the United States.
It began construction on its first facility in Phoenix in 2021 and began work on a second hub last year, with the company increasing its total investment in the two projects to $40 billion. The third facility is expected to produce microchips by the end of the decade and will see the company’s commitment increase to a total of $65 billion, Raimondo said.
These investments would put the United States on track to produce about 20% of the world’s cutting-edge chips by 2030, and Raimondo said they are expected to help create 6,000 manufacturing jobs and 20,000 technology jobs. construction, as well as thousands of new positions more indirectly linked to various sectors. suppliers to chip-related industries tied to Arizona projects.
Potential incentives announced Monday include $50 million to help train Arizona’s workforce so they are better equipped to work in the new facilities. Additionally, approximately $5 billion in proposed loans would be available under the CHIPS and Science Act.
“TSMC’s commitment to manufacturing cutting-edge chips in Arizona marks a new chapter for the U.S. semiconductor industry,” Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters.
This announcement comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is visiting China. On the call with reporters, senior administration officials were asked whether the Biden administration had given China any idea of upcoming investments, given the delicate geopolitics surrounding Taiwan. Officials said only that their goal in making Monday’s announcement was solely to advance U.S. manufacturing.
“We are pleased with the progress made so far at our Arizona site,” TSMC CEO CC Wei said in a statement, “and we are committed to its long-term success.”
yahoo
