Samsung is reportedly delaying production at its new chip manufacturing facility in Texas — the second semiconductor giant to postpone assembly plans despite the Biden administration’s efforts to increase domestic supplies.
Last year, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS Act with the promise of spending $100 billion to support new semiconductor plants in the US. However, the government has so far made one grant — of $35 million, Bloomberg reported
Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant, was initially scheduled to begin massively scaling up production and manufacturing at its plant in Taylor, Texas, in the second half of 2024, according to a company statement from two years ago.
But the company has revised the start date to 2025, according to a report in the Seoul Economic Daily cited by Bloomberg.
The Post has sought comment from Samsung.
Samsung’s delay comes on the heels of its top rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, announcing in July that it would postpone production at its new Arizona facility from late 2024 until 2025.
TSMC, which produces chips for tech giants including Apple and Nvidia, said the delay was due to the company’s difficulties in finding skilled workers as well as higher-than-anticipated expenses.
Biden has made it a goal of his administration to bolster domestic manufacturing of semiconductors in order to compete with China as well as to avoid disruptions in the supply chain that hampered the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
The CHIPS Act was signed into law in August 2022 partly out of concerns that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could deprive the world of advanced computer chips and plunge the US into a recession. China’s President Xi Jinping warned Biden last month that he intends to end Taiwan’s decades-long de facto independence — peacefully, if possible, as The Post reported.
Earlier this month, the administration announced its first investment in computer chip production — a $35 million grant to BAE Systems to increase production at a New Hampshire factory making chips for military aircraft, including F-15 and F-35 jets.
The Commerce Department’s choice of a military contractor instead of a conventional chip manufacturer reveals the national security focus of the law, as more and more weapons systems depend on advanced chips that could be decisive in both preventing and fighting wars.
Biden has made these financial commitments part of his pitch to voters ahead of the 2024 elections, saying his policies have energized the US economy.
But delays by Samsung and TSMC could undermine the administration’s messaging ahead of the upcoming election.
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
With Post Wires
This story originally appeared on NYPost
