WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (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 and development in the sector.
The chief executives of Micron, Intel, Lockheed Martin, HP and Advanced Micro Devices will attend the signing, along with leaders from the auto industry, 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 area.
The new law also provides for a 25% investment tax credit for chip factories, for an estimated total amount of $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 said it firmly opposed the plan, saying it was reminiscent of the “Cold War mentality”. (Report David Shepardson; French version Elitsa Gadeva, told by Jean-Stphane Brosse)
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