On Wednesday, the Vermont state senator declared his support.
The taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on investment, Sanders, an independent who supports Democrats, said in a statement to the Reuters news agency.
The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which awarded $ 39 billion in subsidies to American domestic semiconductor production, and aimed to spur growth in chip production outside of Asia.
The legislation’s acronym CHIPS stands for “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors.”
As the Trump administration seeks “equity” in exchange for “investments,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is now looking into whether the government will purchase equity stakes in troubled Intel and other chipmakers in exchange for the grants.
Rare bipartisanship
Sanders and Trump’s unusual relationship with respect to private company ownership demonstrates a marked shift in his attitude toward left-leaning policies in the economy.
In exchange for the US government receiving 15% of sales since Trump’s second term in office came in January, he agreed to allow Nvidia and AMD to sell AI chips to China.
In order to increase the production of rare earth magnets, the Pentagon is also expected to become the largest shareholder in a small mining company. Additionally, as part of a deal that gave Nippon Steel the right to acquire US Steel, the US government negotiated for itself a “golden share” with a number of veto rights.
A modification to the CHIPS Act that would have prohibited the Commerce Department from awarding a prized CHIPS Act award without the recipient company’s warrant, equity stake, or senior debt instrument having been issued by the recipient company had been proposed by Sanders and Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren.
“I’m pleased that the Trump administration accepts the amendment I suggested three years ago,” Sanders said. Taxpayers shouldn’t be giving large, profitable companies like Intel billions of dollars in corporate welfare without receiving anything in return.
Micron, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, and Samsung are among the recipients of the CHIPS Act recipients, but not all of the money has been distributed.
Trump’s interest in Intel is also being fueled by his desire to boost US-based chip production, which has been a centerpiece of his global trade war. The president believes that by reducing the country’s dependence on overseas-produced chips, the US will be better positioned to maintain its technological lead over China in the creation of artificial intelligence.
Trump requested resignation from Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan earlier this month.
The demand was brought on by reports that Tan’s venture capitalist investments in Chinese tech companies had raised questions about national security. Trump has since cemented his position after Tan pledged allegiance to Intel employees and met with the president, who praised Tan’s “amazing story” and called him an “amazing story”.
According to CNBC, Intel is also in discussions with other large investors to receive an equity infusion at a discounted price just days after the chipmaker received a $ 2 billion capital injection from the SoftBank Group.
Source: Aljazeera
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