In July 2022, Congress passed the CHIPS Act of 2022 to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing, design and research, fortify the economy and national security, and reinforce America’s chip supply chains.

Also known as “CHIPS-plus” or “Chips and Science Act” includes about $52 billion in funding for U.S. companies producing computer chips and a provision that offers a tax credit for investment in chip manufacturing.

Major semiconductor associations including the Semiconductor Industry Association and SEMI praised the Act “The bill would spur hundreds of billions of dollars in private semiconductor investments in America, create hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs and ensure our country has the chips it needs for critical defense applications and sectors of the economy,” said SIA CEO John Neuffer in a statement.

Semiconductors are essential to nearly every sector of the economy, including aerospace, automobiles, communications, clean energy, information technology, and medical devices. Big chip manufacturers have been planning to add and expand fabs in anticipation of government incentives. GlobalFoundries is doing a $1 billion addition in Malta, NY. TSMC is already building a $12 billion facility in Arizona. Samsung plans a $17 billion fab outside Austin, while dangling the possibility of nearly $200 billion in the future. And Intel announced a plan for a $20 billion fab complex in Ohio.