December 7, 2022: -On Tuesday, President Joe Biden joins the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in stating the opening of the second chip in Arizona, raising the firm’s investment in the state from $12 billion to $40 billion.

The firm will also announce producing more technically advanced chips than initially proposed. The TSMC investment is one of the most significant foreign investments in U.S. history in Arizona.

Semiconductor chips are in the team in everything from computers and smartphones to vehicles, microwaves, and healthcare devices. The Covid-19 pandemic underscored U.S. dependence on Chinese manufacturers as lockdowns led to a multinational shortage of high-tech chips.

Biden signalled the CHIPS and Science Act into law in August, allocating billions to entice plants into producing the widely used chips domestically. The law includes $52.7 billion in loans, grants, different incentives and billions more in tax credits to boost investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

Once the TSMC plants are open, they will produce chips to meet the U.S. annual demand of 600,000 wafers each year, according to Ronnie Chatterji, National Economic Council deputy director for Industrial Policy, overseeing CHIPS implementation.

“It’s the foundation of our electronics and the future of quantum computing and AI,” Chatterji added. “At scale, these two could meet the total U.S. is demanding for U.S. chips when completed. That’s the definition of supply chain resilience. We will not rely on anyone else to make the necessary chips.”

“The passage of the CHIPS and Science Act was suggested in providing the long-term certainty for companies such as TSMC to expand their footprint and their commitment to the U.S,” said Brian Deese, National Economic Council director.

“Whether in electric vehicles or consumer electronics, CEOs of major companies make decisions about their projects 18 to 24 months forward,” Deese added. “The build-out in the U.S. gives them more confidence to operate as well.”

Biden visits the first plant in Phoenix, which is anticipated to begin producing chips by 2024. Initially slated to have 5-nanometer chips, it will now create 4-nanometer chips. The second plant will reopen in 2026 and make 3-nanometer chips, the most cutting-edge chips presently available.

The opening of the trees will further help Arizona’s economy, which was hard to reach during the pandemic. Phoenix had an unemployment price of 6.5% in 2020 when more than 9,000 city residents filed for bankruptcy. Phoenix’s unemployment price has since dropped to 3.2%. The state’s economy will increase by 6.3% in 2021, in 16 years.