Wait, what? Not those kinda CHiPS? Sorry, it was a long night. On Tuesday morning, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, which will boost the US microchip manufacturing market with a $200 billion investment over the next five years, reports CNN.
“Today America is delivering, delivering, and I honest to God believe that 50, 75, 100 years from now from people who will look back on this week, they’ll know that we met this moment,” Biden said at the signing ceremony.
Much of the supply chain problems impacting the US economy stems from a shortage of microprocessors and computer chips used in everything from computers to cars to cell phones to toys. The US is reliant on foreign manufacturers, mostly from China, which puts the nation in a precarious situation when chip production falls short.
In 1990, the United States produced 37% of the computer chips used worldwide; since then, that market share has dropped to 12%, according to data compiled by the Semiconductor Industry Association. Increased domestic production will cut down on a number of problems–from national security issues to production delays–caused by dependence on foreign suppliers.