WASHINGTON – The US Senate has passed the federal semiconductor incentive, scientific research, and technological competitiveness bill aimed at bringing manufacturing back from overseas.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said the bill would strengthen the US position in technology development.
Currently only 12 percent of chips are manufactured domestically, compared to 37 percent in the 1990s, and many foreign competitors, including China, are investing heavily to dominate the industry.
Schumer said nearly 75 percent of global semiconductor production is now occurring in East Asia and foreign government subsidies drive the majority of the cost difference for producing semiconductors overseas.
He said this legislation would help turn the tide on this trend by bringing manufacturing back to America.
Schumer said the bill, once approved by the House and signed into law, would have a positive impact on the Hudson Valley.
He said many chip and tech companies are looking to grow like IBM in Westchester and Dutchess counties, SeeQc in Elmsford, and onsemi, which will soon be fully taking over the GlobalFoundries facility at iPark in East Fishkill.
The senator also said he has recently pitched the former TechCity campus in the Town of Ulster to a major battery company for a potential 500 job expansion.
