Remarks by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the Intel Announcement

Remarks by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the Intel Announcement
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Thu, 03/21/2024 – 15:31

ICT Supply Chain
Manufacturing

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Thursday, March 21, 2024

Office of Public Affairs

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Gina M. Raimondo

Good afternoon. It’s a big day here in Arizona. It’s also a big day in Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon. In fact, it’s a monumental day for the country because today we mark one of the largest investments ever in the history of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.

I want to begin by thanking all the hardworking people making this possible – starting with the building trades who are working hard to build this facility and of course, all of the Intel employees who will carry out this important work in the new facilities.

No one cares more about revitalizing American manufacturing than President Biden. He often says he’s tired of just being at the end of the supply chain – we need to make more in America. That’s why he’s focused on investing in America, American manufacturing, and American workers so the U.S. can once again lead the world in advanced manufacturing.   

That’s what today’s announcement is all about. Because of President Biden’s leadership, Congress passed the bipartisan CHIPS Act, a once-in-a-generation $50 billion investment that will usher in a new era of American leadership in advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Today we are announcing a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with Intel for an investment of up to $8.5 billion. This will be the largest grant to any single company from the CHIPS program.

This proposed investment will help enable them to produce leading-edge chips that power our economic and national security and advanced technology – like AI. Our funding will incentivize over $100 billion in investments from Intel – marking one of the largest investments ever in the history of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. I really can’t overstate it: This is a watershed moment.

Last month, I announced that we anticipate America will produce roughly 20% of the world’s leading-edge chips by the end of the decade. These new facilities will manufacture and package the leading-edge chips that will help us meet that, including the chips underpinning artificial intelligence. Today, the U.S. leads the world in the design of AI chips and systems, but those capabilities rely on a small number of overseas factories to manufacture those chips. That status quo is unacceptable, and today’s announcement will help us chart a new course.

Instead of being reliant on a couple countries in Southeast Asia for the chips that power our AI and defense systems, we’ll be making them in fabs here in Arizona and Ohio, packaging them in New Mexico, and inventing new semiconductor technologies in Oregon. In the process, we’ll create tens of thousands of American jobs building these facilities and working inside of them.

Because of President Biden’s leadership, we will once again design, manufacture, and produce the world’s most advanced leading-edge chips here in America. That will make Americans safer, it will make our country and our supply chains more secure, and it will ensure that the future of innovation is in America.

The CHIPS Act is protecting our economic and national security, and YOU are part of that story.

Leadership

Gina M. Raimondo

Tags

Secretary Gina Raimondo
CHIPS and Science Act
Semiconductor Industry
Artificial Intelligence
National Security

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