The Chips Act has spurred nearly US$450 billion in commitments to build factories on US soil, amounting to almost US$10 of private sector investment for every US$1 spent by the government.
US President Donald Trump’s trade war and efforts to bring manufacturing back to US shores have put one of his predecessor’s signature achievements on the firing line: the Chips and Science Act.
Signed by Joe Biden in 2022, the bipartisan law is Washington’s US$52 billion bid to revitalise the American semiconductor industry. The goal is to reduce US reliance on Asia for the tiny components that are the lifeblood of the modern economy, found in smartphones and missiles alike.
