Giving Intel $20 Billion Exposes American Weakness
The funds provided under the Chips Act carry too many conditions tied to the Biden administration’s progressive agenda to be effective.
No lasting fix.
Photographer: Cassidy Araiza/Bloomberg
Intel Inc. is receiving $20 billion in grants and loans to help finance the expansion of its production capacity in the US, becoming the largest beneficiary by far of the 2022 Chips and Science Act, the cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s plan to reverse a decades-long decline in the US’s share of global semiconductor output.
The White House is already trotting out this award on the campaign trail as proof that its policies are working for America, but the reality is that the conditions attached to it just underscores the country’s competitive disadvantages. And while global demand for chips is trending sharply higher, primarily due to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, the US has neither the workforce capability nor the regulatory regime to keep up. Chipmakers are on course to add about 115,000 jobs by 2030, the Semiconductor Industry Association said in July, citing a survey it commissioned, but based on current degree completion rates, about 58% of those projected positions may go unfilled. Even Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned in December that US efforts to build out the domestic semiconductor industry could be delayed by years because of the standard environmental reviews.