Senate To Vote Next Week On China Chip Competition Bill

Voting in the Senate on a bill that would provide funding for the US semiconductor industry as part of efforts to improve competitiveness with China could begin as early as Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been telling lawmakers, a source familiar with the issue said on Thursday.

The source said the bill, in addition to $52 billion in chip subsidies, would include, at a minimum, an investment tax credit from the “Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors (FABS) Act,” legislation intended to provide incentives for construction, expansion or modernization of semiconductor fabrication plants in the United States.

The planned legislation is a smaller version of a bill the Senate passed in June 2021 that included the $52 billion for chip subsidies and authorized another $200 billion to boost U.S. scientific and technological innovation to compete with China. The House of Representatives never took up that bill, instead passing its own version in February that is similar to the Senate measure but also includes a number of trade proposals.

The comments about Schumer’s plans were consistent with what Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday. She said lawmakers appeared to be moving to carve off $52 billion in semiconductor chips manufacturing subsidies from a larger bill on boosting U.S. competitiveness with China.

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