Biden officials to brief senators on plans to boost semiconductor manufacturing: report
PonyWang

Three Biden administration officials are set to brief members of the Senate on Wednesday on the U.S.'s plans to continue competing in the global technology arms race and continue to push for the $52B CHIPS Act, Reuters reported.
The news outlet, citing two officials, noted that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks will speak at a classified briefing in an attempt to get the legislation approved.
Earlier on Monday, Raimondo told Bloomberg that passing the CHIPS Act was essential and that it would help with the continued chip shortage the globe has experienced since the start of the pandemic. She added that progress on negotiations have been made over the past few weeks.
Late last month, Senator Mitch McConnell said he would try to block the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 if Democrats pursued a partisan reconciliation bill.
The meeting between Biden administration officials and lawmakers comes after several companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ:GFS) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) have all expressed public desire for the legislation to become law.
In June, Ming-Hsin Kung, minister of Taiwanâs National Development Council and a Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) board member, told the Washington Post the company had already started its plant in Arizona "because of trust," but added that they believed the CHIPS Act would be passed by Congress and the pace of construction on the plant would depend on the federal subsidies in the legislation.
Separately in June, an Intel (INTC) spokesman said "the scope and pace of our expansion in Ohio will depend heavily on funding from the CHIPS Act."
The CHIPS Act was passed in the Senate last year, providing $52B in subsidies for semiconductor companies. However, it is still not law as the House and Senate reconcile differences in both of their legislation that are unrelated to semiconductors, including climate provisions and issues dealing with Chinese trade, the Washington Post previously reported.
The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act includes $52B in subsidies for the semiconductor industry and another $200B in aid for scientific and technological innovation as the country continues to compete with China on the world stage.
Approximately 12% of the world's chips are made in the U.S., compared to roughly 80% that are built in Asia, according to industry data.
Last month, it was reported Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) would raise prices roughly 6% for the majority of its manufacturing processes starting in January.