Senate seeks to spur U.S. processor manufacturing with $30 billion fund
A new $30 billion fund is being considered by the U.S. Senate to spur American chipset manufacturing in a new effort to reduce reliance on China.
U.S. Senate considering a $30 billion fund to boost chipmaking
American companies have long-relied upon Chinese manufacturers to supply chipsets for everything from smartphones to automobiles. With the current global shortage of semiconductor chips, the U.S. Senate seeks to spur American chipset manufacturing.
Reuters reports that a vote is set to be held in April over a $30 billion fund for boosting the U.S. tech sector. This package is being heralded by Senator Schumer, but officials declined to comment on the matter directly.
The bill may have originated from Schumer's previous demands for a bill to compete against China in the tech sector. One program would provide grants to companies investing in U.S. factories for semiconductor manufacturing, testing, and research.
There are also looming security concerns over using Chinese manufacturing sources. While stories like the "Big Hack" from Bloomberg never coalesce into something tangible, the American fear of Chinese spies in semiconductors is real. This bill would seek funding for "measurably secure microelectronics" built in the United States.
Apple chipset manufacturer TSMC has shown interest in building a plant in Arizona. The company has even resorted to bond sales in order to gather funds for the project. The factory isn't expected to be in full operation until 2024.
The chipset shortage affects more than game consoles and smartphones, as automakers have had to slow production of vehicles due to the shortage. Apple's reliance on Ultra-Wideband chipsets have been impacted by the auto industry's needs as well. A $30 billion fund may cause companies like TSMC to accelerate plans of building factories in the U.S.
U.S. Senate considering a $30 billion fund to boost chipmaking
American companies have long-relied upon Chinese manufacturers to supply chipsets for everything from smartphones to automobiles. With the current global shortage of semiconductor chips, the U.S. Senate seeks to spur American chipset manufacturing.
Reuters reports that a vote is set to be held in April over a $30 billion fund for boosting the U.S. tech sector. This package is being heralded by Senator Schumer, but officials declined to comment on the matter directly.
The bill may have originated from Schumer's previous demands for a bill to compete against China in the tech sector. One program would provide grants to companies investing in U.S. factories for semiconductor manufacturing, testing, and research.
There are also looming security concerns over using Chinese manufacturing sources. While stories like the "Big Hack" from Bloomberg never coalesce into something tangible, the American fear of Chinese spies in semiconductors is real. This bill would seek funding for "measurably secure microelectronics" built in the United States.
Apple chipset manufacturer TSMC has shown interest in building a plant in Arizona. The company has even resorted to bond sales in order to gather funds for the project. The factory isn't expected to be in full operation until 2024.
The chipset shortage affects more than game consoles and smartphones, as automakers have had to slow production of vehicles due to the shortage. Apple's reliance on Ultra-Wideband chipsets have been impacted by the auto industry's needs as well. A $30 billion fund may cause companies like TSMC to accelerate plans of building factories in the U.S.
Comments
This at least has a more direct chance of brining in some good paying jobs.
Maybe forgivable if factories are actually built and jobs created.
So just give GlobalFoundries a grant or loan to buy a bunch of 10nm and 7nm nodes and significantly increase their capacity. Then heavily tax Qualcomm and Nvidia if they choose to have TSMC or Samsung fab their chips that are on the same process. Let Qualcomm and Nvidia continue to go to TSMC and Samsung for 5nm, 3nm and 2nm chips through 2024 for their 8xx and competing chips. But their 7xx and especially 4xx chips - according to this idea - would shift to GlobalFoundries.
Seriously, if we are going to do corporate welfare, why not use it to create our own solar and windmill manufacturing companies? Right now we only have a few and we get most of them from overseas. Getting a bunch of massive solar panel and windmill design and manufacturing operations going could be done a lot faster and cheaper. Direct them to swing states that are going to lose a bunch of fossil fuel related jobs thanks to Biden regulations - New Mexico and Pennsylvania for example - for maximum impact. Then there is Florida. Oil companies have been wanting to do offshore drilling there for decades but both parties say no: the Democrats for environmental reasons and Republicans because residents don't want it. Build a bunch of offshore windmill farms in the places where the oil companies want to do more Deepwater Horizon type projects and that would be a political and economic win also.
But so long as the policy is merely bashing the evil fossil fuel companies without providing jobs or infrastructure to take its place - the AOC strategy - it is never going to become politically popular or widely adopted.
That said, although there is justification for certain industry usage cases, prices will probably be more expensive than competing and fully established supply chains.
Those good paying jobs you’re talking about would only be temporary. Without fundamental changes in the economic environment (and I’m really referring to U.S. Government taxes and regulation) those jobs will require permanent subsidies, which is a non-starter.
For too long, the unchallenged assumption that China has an inherent manufacturing advantage over the U.S. has diverted our collective attention away from our self inflicted sclerosis due to vast over-regulation (see California) coupled with self defeating and job destroying minimum wage requirements.
The U.S. is full of self-starting individuals and small businesses that would jump at the chance to change the world. The entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and well. And despite what some claim, the U.S. still has unrivaled talent in these core technologies. But it needs to be repeated over and over that the Government needs to get OUT OF THE WAY. Unfortunately, that stance seems to be increasingly unpopular these days. It appears that we’d rather spend money to correct a problem that has an easy and costless to the taxpayer fix.
If you did a little research on the proposal you would find it is for capital investment and to provide incentives to build new production facilities. If it results in new profit sources and provides jobs and reduces dependency so be it. Unless you want to go socialist, profit is essential. You don't want to go socialist or Marxist economics or do you?
Fake MAGA garbage like we have seen the last four years is what picks our pockets and allows the money to be stolen from taxpayers while no gains in jobs or cost reductions are made.
Sure China, PRC, make some semiconductor but mainly lower end chip. The majority of chip is made by TSMC, which is a Taiwan (ROC), company. And Taiwan is the good China.
America’s management talent lies in being anti worker, anti union and slave labor at all cost, git yer low payed gig on. Have money for the workers give it to management instead so they can buy something for themselves. Lamborghini anyone.....
It is welfare for the rich, a Korean company (Samsung) has a 7 billion plant in Texas, Apple can and could put plant anywhere in the USA for pocket change without anyone’s (government) help.
Can't keep up with the new political overlords.
Wonder who gets to touch this money.
If it is the same old tech corps, then we are in trouble.