Eye on China, US President Joe Biden signs $280-billion CHIPS Act

Bill includes $52 bn in domestic semiconductor research and development

US President Joe Biden signs a $280 billion bipartisan bill to boost domestic high-tech manufacturing, part of his administration’s push to boost US competitiveness over China.

The semiconductor firms are announcing billions in investments after President Joe Biden signed a broad competition bill Tuesday that includes $52 billion in domestic semiconductor research and development.

Micron Technology will invest $40 billion in memory chip manufacturing and create 8,000 new jobs, according to a White House fact sheet, and Qualcomm is partnering with GlobalFoundries, which has a facility in New York state, in a $4.2 billion agreement to manufacture chips.

Micron Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra is among the expected attendees at the bill signing ceremony at the White House Rose Garden, along with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet, HP CEO Enrique Lores and the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, Dr Lisa Su.

The bill is the latest in a slew of legislative wins for the White House in recent weeks. Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping climate and spending bill — a slimmed down version of Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, after lawmakers also approved veterans health and gun-safety bills with bipartisan support.

The legislation, now called the CHIPS and Science Act, first passed the Senate in June 2021 but lingered in the House for months, and it took more than one year to reconcile the two chambers’ versions. Some Senate Democrats had criticised the White House for not pushing the House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get the legislation over the finish line sooner.

The chips Act is at the center of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce dependence on Asian nations like Taiwan and South Korea, whose homegrown companies are leading the market, and to address supply chain disruptions and resulting price hikes for certain goods containing semiconductors.

Biden’s team and lawmakers have stressed the national security implications of the bill, saying it was vital to competing with and countering China.