Communications of the ACM
Chip Makers Refusing to Build Semiconductor Plants in the U.S. Unless Congress Unlocks $52 billion in Funding
Technically, the CHIPS Act is supposed to support domestic companies—not foreign companies investing in America. But last December, the U.S.-based semiconductor industry organization SEMI urged Congress to open CHIPS funding for all companies invest
Credit: Global Finance
The world's third-largest maker of semiconductor wafers, Taiwan's GlobalWafers, announced plans to build a $5 billion factory in the U.S. on Monday—but only if the government helps pay for it.
"This investment that they're making is contingent upon Congress passing the CHIPS Act. The [GlobalWafers] CEO told me that herself, and they reiterated that today," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC, the same day GlobalWafers announced its development plan.
Congress actually passed the CHIPS Act, which proposed $52 billion in funding for local players to invest in the domestic chip industry, in January 2021 as part of that year's National Defense Authorization Act—an annual bill designed to provide guidance on policies and funding for the year. But, over a year later, Congress has yet to formally allocate any budget to finance the bill.
"It has to be done before [Congress goes] to August recess. I don't know how to say it any more plainly. [The GlobalWafers] deal…will go away, I think, if Congress doesn't act," Raimondo told CNBC.
From Yahoo! Finance
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