A Tale of Two “Chips” Acts

This year, the governments of the European Union and the United States have both stepped in to support the semiconductor business in a big way. In February, the EU unveiled the European Chips Act, which will pour €43 billion (US$42.9 billion) into state aid for big chip-fabrication plants and chipmaking infrastructure. And in July, the US Congress passed the behemoth CHIPS and Science Act, which will sprinkle some US$52 billion in subsidies and tax credits on chipmaking in the United States—and US$170 billion on research in a raft of tech-focused areas such as AI, robotics and quantum computing.