September 7 (UPI) — Biden says US companies that receive funding under a bill to boost domestic semiconductor chip production will be barred from building high-tech facilities in China for a decade, citing national security concerns.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo made the announcement at a White House press conference on Tuesday, where she discussed the strategy to implement the $50 billion CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed last month.
The law provides tens of billions of dollars in federal grants for domestic semiconductor production and research and comes amid a global electronic component shortage.
Raimondo described China’s ban as one of many taxpayer protections and barriers that are part of a law enforcement strategy to prevent funded companies from compromising US national security.
“They are not allowed to use this money to invest in China. They cannot develop advanced technology in China. “They can’t send the latest technology to another country,” he said.
Companies receiving CHIPS funding said they will be able to expand their so-called mature node factories in Asian countries that only serve the Chinese market.
Other taxpayer protections include banning the use of CHIPS funding for share buybacks, as well as hiring experts tasked with negotiating funding deals with private companies that will be required to document that the money they want is “absolutely necessary,” he said. . .
They will not get more than is necessary for this investment,” he said.
Raimondo added that the Commerce Department expects to receive applications for CHIPS funding by February at the latest.
Biden promoted the CHIPS Act as an important tool for national and economic security.
In late July, while lawmakers were still considering how to vote on the bill, Biden argued that despite the invention of the semiconductor, the United States relied on Taiwan and China for a critical technology component that currently puts the US industry on the map. its defense industry. in a vulnerable position.
“If China decides to suspend production or prevent Taiwan from exporting or manufacturing its chips, we will have serious economic and ultimately national security problems,” he said on a conference call.
At a news conference in Washington DC on Tuesday, Raimondo said last year’s chip shortage showed the impact on families.
He added that the rise in automobile prices has increased inflation by a third due to the shortage of electronic components, which has led to layoffs of factory workers and the removal of shelves from where they used to be.
“With this funding, we will ensure that the United States is never again in a position where our national security interests are compromised or key industries are paralyzed by our inability to manufacture important semiconductors here, here at home,” he says.
Source: Breitbart
