WASHINGTON – The Biden Administration announced a pending $8.5 billion federal funding push to Intel for semiconductor production on Wednesday.
Campaign and administration officials in the Biden camp hope that the funds will sway voters come election day.
For the past several years, American lawmakers have expressed increasing anxiety regarding Chinese technology and software being used by US consumers. The Biden Administration banned chips and products from the multi-billion dollar Chinese company Huawei in Nov. 2022.
Administration officials argue that Chinese products introduce an increased risk of surveillance and manipulation of the American people by a major foreign adversary.
An Aug. 2023 Biden executive order further restricted the use of any Chinese chips or semiconductors in American products.
Data security spilled into the headlines with particular force on March 13 when the US House passed a bipartisan bill which would force social media platform Tik Tok’s Chinese parent company to sell the app or ban it from US users completely.
Biden has signaled his support for such a policy, though his general election opponent former president Donald Trump is more hesitant about such a move given the popularity of the app amongst young Americans according to Politico.
The new $8.5 billion Intel project will ramp-up domestic semiconductor production. Biden’s team is touting the funding as an enhancement to national security and the economy.
Production is expected to decrease reliance on foreign electronic manufacturing and create new jobs in at least four states according to the US Department of Commerce.
Whether the Biden Administration’s hardline stance on American data security will yield results in November will be determined by voters on election night.
