China lobbying against CHIPS Act, says US prez
BIDEN SAID THAT CCP IS OPPOSING THE ACT, WHICH IS MEANT TO CREATE INCENTIVES TO BOOST DOMESTIC SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING
WASHINGTON: Directly accusing China of intervening in American legislative processes, US President Joe Biden has said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is lobbying to oppose the passage of the CHIPS Act, which is meant to create incentives to boost semiconductor manufacturing, in the US Congress since it is linked to national security.
Biden made the charge while speaking at a Lockheed facility in Alabama responsible for assembling Javelin missiles on Tuesday. The US and its allies have sent 5,500 Javelins to Ukraine to bolster its defences against Russian aggression till date. Biden has also asked the US Congress for an additional $33 billion to enhance security and economic assistance to Ukraine.
In the course of his speech, Biden also spoke of the importance of semiconductors and the need to boost its domestic manufacturing, a key policy priority for his administration. The US, according to the Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Standards and Technology, was historically dominant in the semiconductor global supply chains, but its share of global fabrication capacity has dipped from 40% in 1990 to 11% in 2020 even as their role in a range of industries, from automobiles to emerging technologies, has sharply increased.
To make up for this lag, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America, also known as the CHIPS Act, was embedded in the National Defense Authorisation Act. In June 2021, the US Senate passed a legislation the US Innovation and Competition Act, which included a $52 billion in federal investments for domestic semiconductor research, design and manufacturing provisions of the CHIPS Act. In February 2022, the House of Representatives passed the America Competes Act, which has a similar provision for semiconductors. Both chambers now need to arrive at a joint legislation which will then be signed into law by Biden.
“Fundamentally, this is a national security issue. This is one of the reasons why the Chinese Communist Party is lobbying folks to oppose this bill. And it’s an issue that unites Democrats and Republicans. Let’s get this done,” Biden said.