The White House has unveiled a nearly $20 billion package of grants and loans to support Intel in the production of electronic chips, in the largest contribution from the administration of President Joe Biden, aimed at countering China's dominance in this sector.
Biden's announcement of the package came during a campaign tour in Arizona as part of his strategy to promote key legislative achievements in states expected to be contested with rival Donald Trump in November's presidential election. The southwestern state was one of the toughest in the 2020 election, with Democrat Biden beating his Republican rival Trump by just 10,457 votes.
The White House said in a statement: "The Commerce Department has reached a preliminary agreement with Intel to provide $8.5 billion in direct financing, in addition to $11 billion in loans." "The funds will support the construction and expansion of Intel facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Origin, create about 30,000 new jobs and indirectly support tens of thousands of jobs," he said.
The $8.5 billion announced is the largest direct contribution to date under the CHIPS and Science Act passed by Congress in 2022, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
The White House said in a statement: "The Commerce Department has reached a preliminary agreement with Intel to provide $8.5 billion in direct financing, in addition to $11 billion in loans." "The funds will support the construction and expansion of Intel facilities in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Origin, create about 30,000 new jobs and indirectly support tens of thousands of jobs," he said.
The $8.5 billion announced is the largest direct contribution to date under the CHIPS and Science Act passed by Congress in 2022, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
In recent years, the United States has pursued a policy aimed at restricting the sharing of U.S. chip technology with China and imposing restrictions on investment in the Chinese chip sector. In contrast, Beijing uses the antitrust "reviews" mechanism as one of its tools to respond to Washington, as Chinese regulators slow or disapprove deals that fall within their jurisdiction, including U.S. companies. Massive global acquisitions usually need to be approved by a number of regulators in key markets.
In China, mergers require an antitrust review if the deal involves two companies with annual revenues of more than $117 million from the state.
Asharq News