As the U.S. Congress recently passed the CHIPS Act of 2022 to provide US$52 billion to support the U.S. semiconductor industry, global semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics, Intel, and TSMC seem to pay much attention to how the subsidies will be distributed.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Chips and Science Act by 243-187 vote on July 28 (local time). The bill was approved by the Senate the day before and will become a law if President Joe Biden signs it.
The gist of the bill is to invest a total of US$280 billion to develop the U.S. semiconductor industry. A total of US$52 billion will be spent for the semiconductor industry, including US$39 billion for semiconductor facility construction in the United States, US$11 billion for research and labor development and US$2 billion for defense-related semiconductor chip manufacturing. Companies that build semiconductor factories in the United States are eligible for a 25 percent tax credit. Expenditure on high-tech research programs has also been greatly expanded, and US$200 billion has been allocated to scientific research promotion.
Samsung Electronics, which invests US$17 billion in Taylor, Texas, to build a new foundry, is expected to receive incentives from the federal government.
SK Hynix plans to invest US$15 billion to build a memory semiconductor packaging facility and a semiconductor R&D center in the U.S.
According to foreign media reports, concerns are growing that Intel may use its enormous financial power to lobby the U.S. Congress and get a large slice of the pie.
In the early stages of discussions on the bill, Intel reportedly delivered its opinion to the U.S. government that it was necessary to provide financial support mainly to U.S. chipmakers rather than non-U.S. companies.
Samsung Electronics submitted its opinion that the United States should support non-U.S. companies as well by taking into account their positive effects on the U.S. economy, according to a document released by the U.S. Department of Commerce in March.
Early this year, Intel laid out a plan to invest at least US$20 billion in its Ohio plant, but postponed the scheduled groundbreaking ceremony indefinitely due to a delay in the passage of the semiconductor support law. Then, as the bill was passed on July 28, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger again expressed his will to start the construction of the Ohio plant.
Taiwan’s TSMC, the No. 1 global foundry player, has announced a plan to invest US$12 billion in Arizona for the production of 5-nm chips.
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