US semiconductor bill receives another boost in Senate

The legislation, which plans to provide a $52bn boost to the industry, was advanced by the US Senate on Tuesday

A US bill which plans to pump around $52bn into the semiconductor industry is edging close to being made law after getting past another important hurdle in the Senate.

The legislation, which aims to ease global supply shortages of semiconductors by decreasing the reliance on Asia for supply and boosting US production, was advanced by a vote of 64-32 on Tuesday.

It includes about $52bn in subsidies and tax credits for the semiconductor industry, with shortages having hit vendors and their channel partners hard since the start of the pandemic as demand for hardware grew.

The Senate, backed by a vote of 64 to 34, voted to begin debating on the bill last week and is now expected to vote on the final passage in the coming days, while the US House could follow suit as soon as later this week, according to Reuters.

US president Joe Biden has made boosting semiconductor production a key priority since he was elected and urged congress to pass the bill "as soon as possible", claiming it will boost the US' competitiveness.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is another who also been outspoken on the need to lessen reliance on Asia for chips, with the company announcing in January that it would spend $20bn on a new factory in Ohio, which could grow to $100bn of investment in total.

Semiconductors are used in a wide variety of products and the pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chain, particularly an over-reliance on Asia, which has had a knock on effect on the channel by impacting wait times for distributors, resellers, and their customers.