President Joe Biden suffered another major blow in his push to get high-tech computer chips made in the United States amid growing tensions with China – while his highly-touted CHIPS Act has doled out a mere .03% of the $100 billion set aside since he signed it into law 16 months ago.
Samsung on Tuesday said it will delay production at its new chip manufacturing facility in Texas until 2025 — the second semiconductor giant to postpone assembly plans this year despite the Biden administration’s efforts to increase domestic supplies.
The South Korean electronics giant was initially scheduled to begin massively scaling up production and manufacturing at its plant in Taylor in the second half of 2024, according to a report in the Seoul Economic Daily cited by Bloomberg.
The Post has sought comment from Samsung.
Samsung’s delay comes on the heels of its top rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., announcing in July that it would postpone production at its new Arizona facility from late 2024 until 2025.
Samsung is reportedly delaying production at its new chip manufacturing facility in Texas. REUTERSTSMC, which produces chips for tech giants including Apple and Nvidia, said the delay was due to the company’s difficulties in finding skilled workers as well as higher-than-anticipated expenses.
The delays by the world’s two leading contract chipmakers could undermine the administration’s attempts to bolster domestic manufacturing of semiconductors in order to compete with China.
Last month, China’s President Xi Jinping warned Biden that he intends to end Taiwan’s decades-long de facto independence — peacefully, if possible, as The Post reported.
Biden signed the bipartisan CHIPS Act in August 2022 partly out of concerns that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could deprive the world of advanced computer chips and plunge the US into a recession.
However, the only investment the government has made so far has been a $35 million grant to BAE Systems to increase production at a New Hampshire factory making chips for military aircraft, including F-15 and F-35 jets, according to Bloomberg.
President Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law in November last year. But the administration has been slow to dispense funds. REUTERSThe Commerce Department’s choice of a military contractor instead of a conventional chip manufacturer reveals the national security focus of the law, as more and more weapons systems depend on advanced chips that could be decisive in both preventing and fighting wars.
Biden has made these financial commitments part of his pitch to voters ahead of the 2024 elections, saying his policies have energized the US economy.
In July, a top rival to Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., said it would postpone production at its new Arizona facility from late 2024 until 2025. REUTERSThe Post has sought comment from the White House.
With Post wires
