American chip manufacturer Intel will receive $7.9 billion in subsidies through the Chips Act

The funds should support Intel in the heavy investments the company plans to make. By the end of the decade, Intel would invest nearly $90 billion in the US.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Intel’s investments should lead to the creation of 10,000 manufacturing jobs and 20,000 construction jobs at sites in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Ohio.

The US government justifies the subsidies by the fact that Intel can keep the entire production chain for next-generation semiconductors in the United States.

The CHIPS Act, voted in 2022, aims to strengthen the semiconductor industry in the United States after relocation to Asia created supply risks that became apparent during the corona pandemic.

Since the elections, the American government has quickly awarded many subsidies before the arrival of newly elected President Donald Trump in the White House. After all, Trump has a lot of criticism of the CHIPS Act. Rather, he wants to aim for higher customs tariffs to encourage companies to bring their production back to the United States.

Although the US produced more than 40 percent of the world’s semiconductors a few decades ago, today that figure is less than 10 percent, according to the White House.