US President Donald Trump said during his speech to US Congress that the country should get rid of the CHIPs act. The act was a bipartisan bill signed back in 2022 to give US$52.7 billion (~RM233 billion) in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturers and companies, either for production or to pay off debts.
“Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn’t mean a thing. They take our money and they don’t spend it,” Trump said during his speech to Congress. “You should get rid of the CHIPS Act and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt.”
The act was signed into effect by the former Biden administration and included US$39 billion (~RM172.7 billion) in subsidies for the US semiconductor companies, along with US$75 billion (~RM332 billion) in government lending authority. Intel was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the act although it is unclear if the ailing chipmaker received the payout it was promised.
Contrary to what Trump believes, the CHIPs Act has helped companies to build factories on US soil. That list includes South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, homegrown brands Intel and Micron, and Taiwanese fab TSMC.
(Source: Reuters)
