US President Joe Biden participates virtually in a discussion with economic and labor leaders on microprocessors, July 26, 2022 in Washington (AFP / Brendan SMIALOWSKI)
The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that provides $ 52 billion to revive the production of semiconductors in the United States, a text that must still be ratified by the House of Representatives.
These amounts are included in a larger law, which also allocates more than $100 billion over five years for research and development.
64 out of 100 senators, Democrats and Republicans, voted for the “Chips Act and science”.
“The Senate has passed historic legislation that will reduce costs and create jobs,” President Joe Biden immediately commented, calling on elected House officials to pass the law “quickly”.
Demand for semiconductors, the heart of all modern electronics, has exploded during the pandemic, causing global shortages further exacerbated by the closure of Chinese factories in the face of Covid resurgences.
Supply problems for these chips, present in both smartphones and helicopters, have, according to the government of Joe Biden, fueled galloping inflation in the country.
In particular, they slowed down the production of new cars last year, causing prices to soar in the automobile industry.
The United States’ dependence on factories mainly located in Asia also poses a threat to national security, with many military equipment operating using these chips, the government notes.
Despite an observation shared by Democrats and Republicans on the imperative of reviving national production, the elected representatives of Congress failed for months to agree on a definitive text.
With regard to microprocessors, the bill finally provides 39 billion dollars in aid to encourage companies to produce locally, and 13 billion for research laboratories.
Several manufacturers have already indicated that they will use these funds to build factories in Ohio or Indiana.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a figure of the American left, was moved before the vote on the sums allocated to “profitable” companies which, according to him, “have closed 780 factories in 20 years” in the United States. “It’s a bribe to keep them here,” he wrote in a statement.
President Biden had, however, promised on Monday that the law “was not a blank check”. According to him, companies will have to meet certain conditions, particularly in terms of wages, to receive this public aid.
“We will not allow them to use these funds to buy back shares or pay dividends,” he added, adding that he would give the green light himself to larger amounts.
© 2022 AFP
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