WASHINGTON, April 15 — The Biden administration will award up to US$6.4 billion (RM30.6 billion) in grants to South Korea’s Samsung to expand its chip production in central Texas as part of a broader effort to expand US chipmaking, the Department of Commerce said today.

The funding, from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, will boost chip production for the aerospace, defence, and auto industries and bolster national security, administration officials told reporters.

"The return of leading-edge chip manufacturing to America is a major new chapter in our semiconductor industry,” said White House National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard.

Reuters previously reported that the announcement was forthcoming.

The subsidy will support two chip production facilities, a research center and a packaging facility, said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on the call.

It will also enable Samsung to expand its Austin, Texas, semiconductor facility, Raimondo said.

"(These investments) will allow the US to once again lead the world, not just in semiconductor design, which is where we do now lead, but also in manufacturing, advanced packaging, and research and development,” Raimondo said.

Samsung is expected to invest roughly US$45 billion in constructing and expanding its Texas facilities through the end of the decade, said senior administration officials.

The US investment in chip production is meant to reduce dependence on China and Taiwan. — Reuters