The Biden administration has entered into an agreement to provide $6.1 billion. in government aid to Micron Technology to produce advanced memory computer chips in New York and Idaho. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., personally encouraged Micron to build a series of factories near Syracuse in the town of Clay. He noted in an interview Wednesday that the announcement was a sign to voters about how Democrats are revitalizing the manufacturing sector.
"It's going to be the largest memory chip factory in America," Schumer said. "For the Syracuse area, this is probably the best thing that's happened since the Erie Canal." The comparison to the 1825 infrastructure project connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean is bold, but it illustrates the potential economic impact as well as national security interests in an increasingly digital world.
Along with the government support, Micron plans to invest $100 billion. in upstate New York over the next two decades. The investment will lead to an estimated 9,000 direct jobs and 40,000 construction jobs. Micron has also announced plans for a $15 billion memory chip factory in their hometown of Boise, Idaho. The funding comes from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which is set to provide government support for new and expanded facilities developed by Intel, TSMC, Samsung and Global Foundries, among other chip companies.
The bill contained $52 billion. to support the domestic chip industry, to reduce the risk that chip shortages could harm the US economy and national security. The Democratic administration has set a goal that 20% of the world's advanced chips must be produced in the United States, and has restricted the flow of chips to China. A senior, unnamed Biden administration official confirmed the deal with Micron.
President Joe Biden discussed in Pittsburgh on Wednesday the importance of computer chips that power everything from weapons to artificial intelligence to household appliances like refrigerators. Biden noted that Republican Donald Trump, the former president and his rival during the election campaign, was not as aggressive in promoting the sector and restricting China's access to chips.
"For all this tough talk about China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that," Biden told a group of steelworkers. Trump has told his supporters that China was "scared" of him because he imposed tariffs on the country aimed at supporting US factory jobs. Biden has maintained the tariffs, and on Wednesday he proposed plans to expand them on steel and aluminum. "I took on Communist China like no government in history," Trump told supporters at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania.