Biden signs major semiconductors investment bill to compete against China

President Joe Biden signs the CHIPS and Science Act to support domestic semiconductor production, new high-tech jobs and scientific research

President Joe Biden signs the CHIPS and Science Act to support domestic semiconductor production, new high-tech jobs and scientific research

President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday a multibillion dollar bill boosting domestic semiconductor and other high-tech manufacturing sectors that US leaders fear risk being dominated by rival China.

The Chips and Science Act includes around $52 billion to promote production of microchips, the tiny but powerful and relatively hard-to-make components at the heart of almost every modern piece of machinery.

The White House says the government commitment to bolstering high-tech industries is already drawing in large-scale private investors, with some $50 billion in new semiconductor investment alone. The lion's share of that is a plan announced by US firm Micron to put $40 billion into domestic expansion by 2030.

Entrepreneurs are "the reason why I'm so optimistic about the future of our country," he said, and "the Chips and Science Act supercharges our efforts to make semiconductors here in America."

Semiconductors are of particular concern because they are vital to everything from washing machines to sophisticated weapons and nearly all are made abroad.

"Today's signing of the bipartisan Chips Act is a historic investment in America's future. It will boost microchip production at home, strengthen our supply chains, increase domestic research and development, and bolster our national security," said US Chamber of Commerce vice president Neil Bradley.

Biden is also counting on the Chips Act to generate enthusiasm among voters, as his Democratic party tries to defend a thin congressional majority from a Republican takeover in this November's midterm elections.

On Wednesday, Biden will sign another bill increasing funding for military veterans exposed to toxins. Like the Chips bill, this won bipartisan support in the usually bitterly divided Congress.

Reflecting on the string of successes in Congress and the sudden momentum for his long stalled agenda, Biden predicted that "people will look back at this week and all we passed, and all we moved on, that we met the moment at this inflection point in history."

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