US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short.
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running.
The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial intelligence], and in bringing back good paying manufacturing jobs to the US,” Schumer said in an interview.
Photo: Bloomberg
The US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program, which received bipartisan support, has spurred more than US$400 billion in investments from companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Intel Corp. When it passed, as a signature piece of former US president Joe Biden’s agenda, it won support from dozens of Republican lawmakers.
Speaking to a joint session of the US Congress on Tuesday night, Trump called for its repeal, to applause from congressional Republicans, including those whose states have benefited.
Republicans control both chambers of the US Congress, but a slim House of Representatives majority, plus an expected Senate filibuster, would make a repeal politically difficult. The legislation has drawn investments to Republican strongholds, such as Ohio and Texas, as well as Schumer’s home state of New York.
The US president has consistently derided a program he characterizes as a waste of government funds, arguing tariffs would achieve the same outcome while filling coffers. Trump pointed to the US$100 billion in new investment planned by TSMC in the US as evidence of the power of tariffs.
Schumer said there have already been benefits with many factories under construction. He said some have already gotten their money, but projects could be put at risk if Trump succeeded in repealing funding.
“That’s why it had such bipartisan support, and I believe that there’ll be an overwhelming number of people in the Senate — Democrat and Republican — who want to keep it,” Schumer added.
Republicans have previously indicated that they want to remove what they see as “social” provisions of the CHIPS Act. That could involve eliminating labor-friendly regulations or environmental requirements.
US Senator Mike Crapo, who heads the Finance Committee, on Wednesday said that he would be open to some adjustments to the act, but opposes a full repeal.
“We’re not looking at that,” Crapo said.
Young called the law “one of the greatest successes of our time,” and said he received assurances from Trump Cabinet nominees both in public and in private that they would carry out the CHIPS Act before he committed to supporting their confirmation.
The Indiana Republican said he reached out to the White House on Tuesday night after Trump’s speech and expressed a willingness to improve the program.
“My expectation is the administration will continue to support this supply chain resiliency and national security initiative,” he said. “If it needs to transfer over to a different model over time, I’m open to that.”
Democratic US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, whose state is home to several factories planned by TSMC and Intel with CHIPS Act support, said he would be scrutinizing the Trump administration’s work in implementing the law, to ensure none of the money is held back.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Tuesday confirmed a cyberattack targeting some of its North American facilities, but said the affected factories were gradually returning to normal. The company, known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said that its cybersecurity team “activated the response mechanism and implemented operational measures to ensure the continuity of production and delivery.” “The affected factories are resuming normal production,” the company said in a statement. Hon Hai had previously described it as a “technical issue,” when news of the cyberattack first surfaced. The confirmation followed media reports of a large-scale information technology system incident that broke out at
RSS