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U.S. May Lose Silicon Wafer Factory If Congress Can't Fund CHIPS Act, Commerce Secretary Says
U.S. may lose silicon wafer factory if Congress can't fund CHIPS Act, commerce secretary says:
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday that she believes GlobalWafers will follow through on its plan to build a silicon wafer factory in Texas — but only if Congress passes funding for the CHIPS for America Act by the time the August recess begins.
"This investment that they're making is contingent upon Congress passing the CHIPS Act [funding]. The CEO told me that herself, and they reiterated that today," Raimondo said in an interview on "Mad Money."
"It has to be done before they go to August recess. I don't know how to say it any more plainly. This deal ... will go away, I think, if Congress doesn't act," she added.
GlobalWafers, a Taiwan-based semiconductor silicon wafer firm, said Monday that it plans to build a facility to produce the component in Sherman, Texas. The facility could create up to 1,500 jobs and produce 1.2 million wafers a month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
The CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) for America Act incentivizes investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry. While it was passed in January 2021, a funding package has not been approved by Congress.
McConnell Warns Dems of Fallout for Reviving Biden Bill
McConnell warns Dems of fallout for reviving Biden bill:
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell threatened Thursday to derail a bill designed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States if Democrats revive their stalled climate and social policy package.
The rejuvenation of the Democratic reconciliation package, central to President Joe Biden's agenda, remains a work in progress and is far from certain. But with some signs of progress in the negotiations, McConnell is moving to complicate Democratic plans by warning that Republicans would react by stopping separate semiconductor legislation from moving over the finish line in the coming weeks, despite its bipartisan support.
"Let me be perfectly clear: there will be no bipartisan USICA as long as Democrats are pursuing a partisan reconciliation bill," McConnell tweeted, referring to the shorthand name for the computer chips bill that passed the Senate last year.
Both chambers of Congress have passed their versions of the legislation, which would include $52 billion in incentives for companies to locate chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. Lawmakers are now trying to reconcile the considerable differences between the two bills, but at a pace that has many supporters worried the job won't get done before lawmakers break for their August recess.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by khallow on Monday July 04 2022, @11:23PM (6 children)
(Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 04 2022, @11:39PM (1 child)
Check again, commie, because the Democrats never spend money without doing a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday July 06 2022, @02:47PM
Actually yes, we do.
Here it is: Analysis for CHIPS Act and BIA Briefing [commerce.gov]
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Mykl on Tuesday July 05 2022, @02:06AM (3 children)
What's the ROI for Defence spending? I know, it's not about that, it's about securing our sovereignty. So is local chip manufacturing.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 05 2022, @03:03AM (2 children)
Pretty awful these days.
And what does having a factory in the US actually do for defense spending or local chip manufacturing? Just because one is there, doesn't mean that it does anything valuable.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 05 2022, @07:48AM (1 child)
You're either stupid or stupid.
Take a leap of imagination on what would happen if China embargoes by force, takes or destroys Taiwan.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 05 2022, @01:08PM
A token factory that doesn't do anything won't help that a bit. This is a classic example of throwing money at a problem and hoping that has some positive effect. My take on this is that is a nearly useless activity where "nearly" could actually be harmful rather than helpful. For example, if businesses routinely get bribes to build a factory in a region, then they'll come to expect that bribe. Even worse - and this is the scenario I'm worried about here - they may build a useless shell merely to get that bribe. That's worse than doing nothing.
There's no point to complaining about my lack of foresight, when the tool is broken.