The future of the CHIPS Act could hang in balance of the presidential election

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When the CHIPS and Science Act passed in 2022, it had bipartisan support. Lawmakers from both political parties hailed the law's importance for reviving US chipmaking capacity in the face of China’s growing influence in the semiconductor sector.

But in the final days of the presidential election cycle, the law has become a point of contention between the political parties, putting its future in doubt.

On Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who voted against the CHIPS Act, drew criticism after suggesting he would consider repealing the program under the Trump administration. He later walked back his statement, saying he would look to “streamline” the permitting process.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, Melania Trump and Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, attend the 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City, U.S., October 17, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and House Speaker Mike Johnson attend a dinner in New York City. on Oct. 17, 2024. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) · REUTERS / Reuters

That prompted Vice President Kamala Harris to defend the law, touting the jobs created under the Biden administration’s push to bring manufacturing back to the US.

“That is the way we are going to win the competition with China for the 21st century,” she said.

The exchange also came a week after former President Donald Trump said in a podcast appearance with Joe Rogan that the chip deal was “so bad” and that slapping tariffs on chips imported from Taiwan would be more effective.

'We need to get it finished'

The debate has put major semiconductor companies in an uneasy position as they await grants from the Commerce Department to build out semiconductor manufacturing facilities or foundries. Intel (INTC), Texas Instruments (TXN), Samsung, TSMC, GlobalFoundries (GFS), and Micron (MU) have all been awarded federal money.

While the law has unlocked nearly $53 billion in funding for roughly two dozen projects intended to bring supply chains back to the US, only one company has received the grant money: Polar Semiconductor, which received $123 million for its chip plant in Minnesota. As for the other companies, the Commerce Department has maintained that individual milestones negotiated to release the money have not been met.

Intel (INTC) has been the biggest beneficiary, with $8.5 billion in grants committed to the chipmaker, though it is still waiting on money from those grants. The company has bet its future on its foundry ambitions, investing more than $100 billion to expand its factories in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon.

“It's well over two years since the [CHIPS] Act passed, and over that period, I've invested $30 billion in US manufacturing," said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "We've seen $0 from the CHIPS grants. This has taken too long. We need to get it finished."