Senator Kyrsten Sinema's (I-AZ) 2022 CHIPS Act has once again seen results, as the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has recently been awarded $6.6 billion in grants and $5 billion in loans thanks to the Act.
Like Intel, TSMC would use this grant to build a microchip-producing plant in Phoenix, steering production away from adversarial countries like China and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
According to TSMC's website, the additional plant "brings TSMC’s total capital expenditure for the Phoenix, Arizona site to more than US$65 billion, making the site the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona history, and the largest foreign direct investments in a greenfield project in U.S. history."
Additionally, they estimate the third fab will bring in 6,000 additional jobs to Arizona. Meanwhile, the construction process itself will employ another 20,000 in building, and "tens of thousands" of indirect supply and consumer-related jobs.
In her press release, Sen. Sinema said, "Today’s TSMC investment – fueled by our bipartisan CHIPS and Science law – is making transformational investments in our state, creating strong Arizona careers, protecting our national security, and strengthening Arizona’s leadership in semiconductor manufacturing."
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who helped negotiate the bill, also said the grant promised "an exciting day for Arizona where we are leading the way in bringing the most advanced microchip manufacturing back to America. That’s going to create thousands of great-paying jobs, many of which don’t require a four-year degree, and get more workers the skills they need to start these careers. It will also strengthen our national security by bringing critical technology supply chains back from overseas and reinforcing ties between the United States and Taiwan."
Since the CHIPS Act became law in 2022, the Biden Administration has awarded funds to Intel, GlobalFoundries, Samsung, and Micron Technology in addition to TSMC, with Intel recently receiving $8.5 billion to develop semiconductor plants in four states, with a special interest in Arizona that promised approximately 9,000 jobs to the Grand Canyon State.
