WASHINGTON: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, GlobalFoundries and at least one other chipmaker are poised to receive their latest Chips and Science Act awards from the Biden administration, two people briefed on the matter said.

The U.S. Commerce Department recently informed Congress that at least three companies were close to receiving a final award, said one of the people briefed on the matter and another source familiar with the negotiations. Under the Chips Act, the Secretary of Commerce must notify the appropriate committees at least 15 days before entering into any transaction over $10 million.

The notification is a sign of progress amid concerns about the pace of the rewards rollout.

TSMC, GlobalFoundries and the third unidentified company are among 21 preliminary deals worth around $37 billion under the bipartisan Chips and Science Act of 2022, aimed at luring chipmakers outside Asia to increase their production in the United States. So far only one has been finalized and announced. . $123 million was awarded to Polar Semiconductor to expand and upgrade a chip manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Reuters could not determine when the rewards would be announced or the exact amount, although it is expected to be close to the original sum.

In April, TSMC’s U.S. unit received a $6.6 billion grant for advanced semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona, as part of a preliminary agreement with the Commerce Department.

In February, GlobalFoundries received $1.5 billion to build a new semiconductor production facility in Malta, New York, and expand its existing operations there and in Burlington, Vermont.

The fact that Congress has been briefed on at least three deals shows that the Biden administration is making progress on final terms, as award winners grow increasingly concerned that Republican Donald Trump could scuttle the grants when he will become president. Reuters could not determine whether the other company had completed its deal.

TSMC and GlobalFoundries declined to comment.

A Commerce Department spokesperson declined to comment on TSMC and GlobalFoundries, but said, “By law, notification to Congress is a routine part of the Chips Program Office process and does not indicate that the terms of attribution are final. »

Repeal possible

In October, Trump called the Chips Act “so bad” during an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast. “We have invested billions of dollars for rich companies,” he said.

“When I see us paying a lot of money for people to make chips, that’s not the way,” Trump said. “You didn’t have to pay 10 cents. You could have done this with a series of tariffs. In other words, you charge prices so high that they will come and build their chip companies for nothing.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to open the door to repealing the law when a reporter asked him last week whether Republicans would seek to repeal the law if they had a majority. .

“I think we probably will, but we haven’t developed that part of the agenda yet,” Johnson said, before backtracking later saying he had misheard the question.

Backlash from community groups over the Polar Semiconductor award, including an alleged lack of transparency on the labor, environmental and chemical components of the final deal, prompted the administration to delay releasing the remainder final prices until after the election, two close sources said. with the internal functioning of the negotiations.

Childcare and labor provisions in the deals also took time to negotiate, companies involved in the discussions said.

Still, companies want to close their deals. Intel, which is expecting $8.5 billion in subsidies, told Reuters in a statement: “We will continue to do our part and urge the Department of Commerce to accelerate and streamline the process to achieve our collective goal of creating an ecosystem globally competitive American semiconductor company. .”