The Senate passed the CHIPS and Science Act with a bipartisan vote on Wednesday. The legislation appropriates $52 billion in grants for domestic semiconductor manufacturing under legislation enacted, but not funded, 18 months ago. The legislation will support U.S. competitiveness in the semiconductor industry and protect national security interests. The next step for the bill is approval in the House.
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance® continues to support legislative action to address the semiconductor shortage negatively impacting businesses and consumers. In May, the CLT Alliance joined a coalition led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calling on Congress to pass legislation that would provide funding to incentivize domestic semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing.
The U.S. share of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity has dropped from 37% in 1990 to 12% today. Other countries have provided significant incentives to ramp up their own chipmaking production, including Ireland, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and the EU. Also, China is investing heavily in R&D and endeavoring to achieve dominance in emerging technologies and industries of the future.
