US president signs law that frees up billions in subsidy for chip sector

US President Joe Biden has signed the Chips and Science Act. The law is now officially in effect. The ‘bipartisan’ initiative was previously passed by the Senate and House of Representatives.

The purpose of the scheme is to reduce US dependence on international chip manufacturers and products, according to a press release. The Chips and Science Act aims to strengthen national chip supply chains, create tens of thousands of new jobs and reduce dependence on Chinese chip manufacturers.

This must be achieved by, among other things, releasing 52.7 billion dollars in subsidy for the chip sector, which translates into 51.7 billion euros. The already passed law also releases up to 23.5 billion euros in tax benefits for the construction of new chip factories. It is not yet clear when the first grants, tax breaks and research projects will be funded.

“The future of the chip industry will be made in the United States”, says President Biden after the drawing moment. The meeting was attended by senior employees from Micron, Intel, Lockheed Martin, HP and AMD, among others. For example, Micron has already pledged an investment of more than 39 billion euros in national chip production, in anticipation of the subsidies that will be made available. Also, several companies have already started building new chip factories in the United States, including Intel, Samsung and TSMC. It is up to the Commerce Department to process applications for grants and whether or not to award the grants.

In addition to direct investments in the chip industry, the Chips and Science Act also provides a budget of 170 billion dollars for investments in scientific research into technology. The US government mentions research into ‘nanotechnology, clean energy, quantum computers and artificial intelligence’.