WASHINGTON — The U.S. government announced Monday that it will provide $35 million to BAE Systems to increase production at a New Hampshire factory that makes computer chips for military aircraft such as the F-15 and F-35 jets.
It is the first allocation of resources derived from the CHIPS and Scientific Activities Act, which provides more than $52 billion to promote the development and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States.
The Commerce Department’s decision to award the resources to a military contractor instead of a conventional chip or semiconductor manufacturer reveals the law’s approach to national security, at a time when more and more war systems depend on these advanced elements that could be decisive in combating and preventing wars.
The CHIPS Act, passed on a bipartisan basis in Congress in August 2022, addressed in part fears that a military strike on Taiwan would deprive the world of advanced chips and plunge the United States into a recession.
The 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, began this process to develop not only the national semiconductor industry, but all of them. He was even the promoter of the idea of a Law to provide funds in that sense, but his departure from the White House left the plans unfulfilled.
“We cannot risk our national security by relying on a single region of the world or even a single country for the advanced technologies needed,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, calling the investments “a once-in-a-generation opportunity.” , to advance our national and economic security and create a thriving and durable semiconductor manufacturing industry.”
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the fragility of supply chains for computer chips, when a global shortage affected automotive production in the United States and sent prices soaring.
Now Biden is using the Act for political and electoral purposes, as expected, and claims that the incentives defined by Congress have led to more than $230 billion in future investments in semiconductors and electronic devices.
Biden visited the site of a future Intel factory in Ohio and a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. factory in Arizona, and has promoted IBM’s investments in New York.
Source: With information from AP.
