The US Senate on Wednesday (local time) passed a USD 280 billion Industrial Policy bill to counter China and bolster American competitive edge and national security.
“Today the Senate passed a historic bill that will lower costs and create jobs. As Americans are worried about the state of the economy and the cost of living, the CHIPS bill is one answer: it will accelerate the manufacturing of semiconductors in America, lowering prices on everything from cars to dishwashers,” read President Joe Biden’s statement.
The legislation reflected a remarkable and rare consensus in an otherwise polarized Congress in favour of forging a long-term strategy to address the nation’s intensifying geopolitical rivalry with Beijing.
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It also will create jobs – good-paying jobs in the United States. It will mean more resilient American supply chains. The bill is expected to pave the way for the construction of factories across the country and, along with that, an estimated tens of thousands of jobs.
“So we are never so reliant on foreign countries for the critical technologies that we need for American consumers and national security. I want to thank Senators in both parties for their hard work on this legislation,” read the statement.
The legislation will next be considered by the House, where it is expected to pass with some Republican support. President Biden, who has backed the package for more than a year, could sign it into law as early as this week.
“For decades, some “experts,” said we needed to give up on manufacturing in America. I never believed that. Manufacturing jobs are back. Thanks to this bill, we are going to have even more of them. The House should promptly pass it and send this bill to my desk,” added the statement.
The bill, a convergence of economic and national security policy, would provide USD 52 billion in subsidies and additional tax credits to companies that manufacture chips in the United States. It also would add USD 200 billion in scientific research, especially in artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing and a range of other technologies, reported The New York Times.
Many senators, including Republicans, saw the legislation as a critical step to strengthen America’s semiconductor manufacturing abilities at a time when the nation has become perilously reliant on foreign countries — especially an increasingly vulnerable Taiwan — for advanced chips.
Enactment of the legislation is considered a critical step to strengthening America’s semiconductor abilities at a time when the share of modern manufacturing capacity in the United States has plummeted to 12 per cent.
That has left the nation increasingly reliant on foreign countries amid a chip shortage that has sent shock waves through the global supply chain, reported The New York Times.
The bill also seeks to create research and development and manufacturing jobs in the long run, with provisions aimed at building up pipelines of workers — through workforce development grants and other programs — concentrated in once-booming industrial hubs hollowed out by corporate offshoring.