Biden’s big chip shot
$6.1B package will boost upstate factory effort
The Biden administration reached an agreement to dole out a staggering $6.1 billion in support for semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology to produce advanced computer memory chips in New York and Idaho.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) personally pursued USbased Micron to build what will ultimately be a set of four chip factories near Syracuse in the town of Clay, according to Fortune.
“It will be the biggest memory chip plant in America,” Schumer said. “For the Syracuse area, this is the best thing that’s happened probably since the Erie Canal.”
Aside from the government support, Micron is expecting to invest $100 billion of its own over the next two decades in the upstate New York endeavor, which is set to create 9,000 factory jobs and 40,000 construction jobs.
Biden, 81, has touted Micron’s ambitious plans as “another win for America, and another massive new investment in America spurred by my economic plan.”
The president has also boasted that his term has bolstered what he’s called “a historic manufacturing boom,” and his administration has vowed to see 20% of the world’s advanced chips made in the US.
As part of the effort, his administration has restricted the flow of chips into China, which has emerged as a leader in semiconductor chip manufacturing.
He reiterated Wednesday in Pittsburgh that he’s confident about getting tougher on China — especially when it comes to preventing the exportation of advanced technologies that could “undermine our national security.”
The world’s largest chip firm, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — whose clients include Apple, Intel and Nvidia — has factories across China, including in Nanjing and Shanghai.
The Biden administration’s multibillion-dollar funding for Micron comes from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
The law allows for investment tax credits that help American manufacturing companies stay competitive in the global market, according to the White House.