US President Joe Biden wants to support the American chip manufacturer Intel with state aid worth almost 20 billion dollars (about 18 billion euros) in competition with Chinese producers. The package consists of $8.5 billion in non-repayable grants and $11 billion in loans, the White House announced Wednesday.
This is the largest financial injection for a company that the Biden administration has decided to date. Government headquarters said the money would be used to support the construction and expansion of Intel facilities in the southwestern US state of Arizona, as well as in New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon. These projects are expected to create almost 30,000 new jobs.
Arizona is considered one of the key states for the outcome of November’s presidential election, in which Democrat Biden is expected to face Republican Donald Trump again. In the 2020 election, Biden only narrowly won in Arizona over then-incumbent Trump.
From zero to twenty in six years
The government support should allow Intel to initiate investments worth more than $100 billion, as US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo explained. This will be one of the largest investments to date in the US semiconductor sector. The goal is for 20 percent of global production of the most modern generation of microchips to come from the US by 2030.
Currently, the U.S. share of these advanced chips is zero percent, Raimondo said. The US has until now relied on “a small number of factories in Asia” for this type of chip. This is not only an economic problem, but also a “national security” problem, the minister emphasized.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
