Joe Biden signs into law the support for semiconductors | Photo credits: US Government Works
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A sweeping plan to support the U.S. semiconductor industry, aimed at making the country more competitive with China, will be signed into law by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
The law adopted by Congress provides for the release of 52.7 billion dollars (51.5 billion euros) in subsidies for production and research & development in the sector.
Chief executives from Micron, Intel, Lockheed Martin, HP and Advanced Micro Devices will attend the signing, along with auto industry leaders, labor unions, various governors and officials, the White House said.
The latter considers that the adoption of the text will encourage investment. She cites the example of Micron, which has announced that it will invest 40 billion dollars in the manufacture of memory chips, which will increase the market share of the United States from 2 to 10% in this field.
The new law also provides a 25% investment tax credit for chip factories, totaling an estimated $24 billion.
In order to compete with China, 200 billion dollars will be injected over ten years to stimulate American scientific research. Congress will still have to pass an appropriation bill to fund these investments.
The Chinese embassy in Washington has said its firm opposition to this plan, saying it recalls the “mentality of the Cold War”.
(Report David Shepardson; French version Elitsa Gadeva, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)