The Biden administration announces $6.6 billion to ensure advanced microchips are built in the US
WILMINGTON, Del.– The Biden administration pledged Monday to provide up to $6.6 billion so a Taiwanese semiconductor giant can expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona and better ensure that the most advanced microchips are available for the first time are produced in our own country.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the funding for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. means the company can expand its existing plans for two facilities in Phoenix and add a third, recently announced manufacturing hub.
“These are the chips that underlie all artificial intelligence, and they are the chips that are the necessary components for the technologies we need to support our economy,” Raimondo said on a call with reporters, adding that they were vital for the “21st century”. century military and national security apparatus.”
The funding is tied to a sweeping 2022 law that President Joe Biden has celebrated that aims to revive U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The $280 billion package, known as the CHIPS and Science Act, is intended to increase the U.S. lead in military technology and manufacturing while minimizing the types of supply disruptions that occurred in 2021, following the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when a chip shortage came to a halt. 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 dependence on Asian suppliers, which Washington sees as a security weakness.
“Semiconductors — those tiny chips smaller than the tip of your finger — power everything from smartphones to cars to satellites and weapons systems,” Biden said in a statement. “TSMC’s renewed commitment to the United States and its investments in Arizona represent a broader story for American-made semiconductor manufacturing with strong support from America’s leading technology companies to build the products we rely on every day. ”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing produces nearly all of the world’s leading microchips and plans to eventually do so in the US
It began building its first factory in Phoenix in 2021 and last year began building a second hub, with the company increasing its total investment in both projects to $40 billion. The third facility should produce microchips by the end of the decade and will see the company’s commitment increase to a total of $65 billion, Raimondo said.
The investments would put the US on track to produce roughly 20% of the world’s most advanced chips by 2030, and Raimondo said they should help create 6,000 manufacturing jobs and 20,000 jobs in the construction, as well as thousands of new jobs more indirectly linked to various sectors. suppliers in chip-related industries connected to projects in Arizona.
Possible incentives announced Monday include $50 million to help train Arizona’s workforce so they are better equipped to work in the new facilities. In addition, approximately $5 billion in proposed loans would be available through the CHIPS and Science Act.
“TSMC’s commitment to producing industry-leading 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.
The announcement came as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was traveling in China. During the call with reporters, senior administration officials were asked whether the Biden administration had given China an edge on upcoming investments, given the delicate geopolitics surrounding Taiwan. The officials said only that their focus in making Monday’s announcement was solely on promoting U.S. manufacturing.
“We are thrilled with the progress of our Arizona location to date,” TSMC CEO CC Wei said in a statement, “And we are committed to its long-term success.”