The
proposal sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron
Wyden and the top Republican on the panel, Senator Mike Crapo,
along with Senators Mark Warner, Debbie Stabenow, John Cornyn
and Steve Daines, would provide "reasonable, targeted incentives
for domestic semiconductor manufacturing," they said in a
statement.
The group did not immediately provide a cost estimate for the
measure, which is on top of recent proposed semiconductor
funding. Last week, the Senate approved $52 billion for
production and research on semiconductors and telecommunications
equipment. That included $2 billion dedicated to chips used by
automakers, which have seen massive shortages and made
significant production cuts. The House of Representatives must
still act on the measure.
Supporters of funding note the U.S. share of semiconductors and
microelectronics production has fallen to 12% from 37% in 1990.
The senators said up to 70% of the cost difference for producing
semiconductors overseas results from foreign subsidies.
"The United States can’t allow foreign governments to continue
to lure companies’ manufacturing overseas, increasing risks to
our economy and costing American workers good-paying jobs,"
Wyden said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said last month the
funding could result in seven to 10 new U.S. semiconductor
plants.
Raimondo anticipates government funding would generate "$150
billion-plus" in investment in chip production and research -
including contributions from state and federal governments and
private-sector firms.
The tax credit could benefit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Co (TSMC) <2330.TW>, which is building a $12 billion
semiconductor factory in Arizona, and Dutch chipmaker NXP
Semiconductors NV as well as U.S. firms such as Intel Corp and
Micron Technology Inc.
The Semiconductor Industry Association praised the proposal,
saying it said would "strengthen domestic chip production and
research, which are critical to U.S. job creation, national
defense, infrastructure, and semiconductor supply chains."
(This story corrects Reuters Instrument Code for TSMC)
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul,
Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis)
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