Joe Biden signs bill to boost domestic semiconductor production

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed legislation to boost the production of semiconductor chips within the U.S. in a bid to compete with China in the tech industries.

“Today, I sign into law the CHIPS and Science Act,” Biden tweeted. “It’s a once-in-a-generation law that invests in America by supercharging our efforts to make semiconductors here at home.”

The bill allocates $280 billion to American firms to produce more semiconductors. Republicans lent support to the measure in both the House and Senate, allowing it to clear the latter's filibuster hurdle and reach Biden's desk.

In a White House fact sheet, the administration said the bill would provide critical assistance to American chip makers and secure the future of American tech production.

"It will strengthen American manufacturing, supply chains, and national security, and invest in research and development, science and technology, and the workforce of the future to keep the United States the leader in the industries of tomorrow, including nanotechnology, clean energy, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence," the sheet read.

Moreover, the White House noted the decline in American domestic manufacturing of semiconductors despite it having been invented in the U.S. The bill, it asserts, will help steer production from Asia and back toward the semiconductor's origin country.

"America invented the semiconductor, but today produces about 10 percent of the world’s supply—and none of the most advanced chips," the fact sheet continued. "Instead, we rely on East Asia for 75 percent of global production. The CHIPS and Science Act will unlock hundreds of billions more in private sector semiconductor investment across the country, including production essential to national defense and critical sectors."