Your move, Congress

Taiwanese chip supplier GlobalWafers announced plans to build a new $5 billion factory in Sherman, TX, to manufacture silicon wafers used in semiconductors, the US’ first such facility in more than two decades.

✋🤔 But there is one caveat… the company will only move forward with its plans if Congress approves financial incentives included in a hotly-debated piece of legislation regarding America’s semiconductor industry.

📝🏭 More deets: The Chips Act, originally proposed last year with the aim of attracting chip manufacturers to the US, would allocate ~$52 billion towards domestic chip production, but has been held up by differences between versions approved in the Senate and House.

• The Senate version passed with bipartisan support last year, but the House bill was approved on a party-line vote, with measures on trade, climate change and human rights opposed by Republicans.
• If no legislation is passed, GlobalWafers President Mark England said the company would instead pivot to South Korea, where costs are much lower.

🏛👀 Zoom out: GlobalWafers isn’t the only semiconductor company with its eyes on Congress. Last week, Intel indefinitely delayed the groundbreaking ceremony for its planned $20+ billion chip manufacturing plant in Ohio “due in part to uncertainty around” the Chips Act.

+Dig deeper: From the Left | From the Right | What are semiconductors and why are they important?