Latest news with #ChipsandScienceAct
Khaleej Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Timeline: How the US-China semiconductor war has unfolded
The United States has in recent years sought to curb exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China, with Nvidia and other US chip companies lobbying against its tough restrictions. As Nvidia says it will resume sales of a less powerful AI semiconductor model to China, here is a run-down of the microchip conflict: August 2022: Biden's Chips Act Joe Biden, then US president, signs a bill to boost domestic chipmaking, an industry Washington fears China could come to dominate through mammoth state-backed investments. The Chips and Science Act includes around $52 billion to promote the production of microchips, the tiny components that power almost all modern machinery. October 2022: Export controls Washington suddenly restricts exports of some high-end microchips -- crucial to the manufacturing of powerful AI systems -- to China on national security grounds. The rules, which also toughen requirements on the sale of semiconductor equipment, aim to limit Beijing's access to state-of-the-art chips with military applications. China says the United States is attempting to "maliciously block and suppress Chinese businesses". December 2022: Blacklist The US blacklists 36 Chinese companies, including advanced chip producers, severely restricting their use of American semiconductor manufacturing tech and designs. Many of them have close ties to China's defence sector, with some linked to efforts to develop hypersonic and ballistic missile systems. October 2023: US tightens curbs A year after those restrictions -- and following the November 2023 release of OpenAI's generative AI chatbot ChatGPT -- Washington tightens the screws on China. As the world discovers the powers of AI, the release by China-owned Huawei of a new smartphone featuring a powerful home-grown advanced chip also sparks US alarm. Attention has so far been focused on Nvidia's industry-leading H100 chip, but the export curbs are widened to other, lower-performing semiconductors made by Nvidia and its peers. December 2024 - January 2025: Biden's final moves In the weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House, Biden imposes a series of new rules on high-end chip exports to China. One of them requires authorisations for exports, re-exports and in-country transfers -- a bid to avert any circumvention of chip supply to China from other nations. There are some exceptions for countries considered friendly to the United States, but most face a cap on imports of advanced chips. "The US leads the world in AI now -- both AI development and AI chip design -- and it's critical that we keep it that way," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says. The new rules will take effect in 120 days -- giving Trump's incoming administration time to potentially make changes. January 2025: Deepseek moment Chinese firm DeepSeek's artificial intelligence chatbot soars to the top of the Apple download charts, stunning industry insiders and analysts with its ability to match its US competitors. April 2025: H20 blocked Nvidia has developed new H20 semiconductors -- a less powerful version of its AI processing units designed specifically for export to China. But the tech giant says it has been told by Washington that it must obtain licences to ship the H20s to China because of concerns they may be used in supercomputers there. May 2025: Trump reverses Biden-era controls The Trump administration rescinds some of the chip export controls, answering calls by countries who said they were shut out from crucial technology needed to develop AI. Some US lawmakers feared the cap would have incentivised countries to go to China for AI chips, spurring the superpower's evolution into a tech superpower. As an alternative, the US Commerce Department reminds AI actors that using Huawei Ascend, the Chinese tech giant's most advanced chip, violates US export controls -- something Beijing later slams as "bullying". July 2025: H20 sales resume Nvidia says it will resume sales of its H20 chips to China, after Washington pledged to remove the licensing curbs. CEO Jensen Huang is expected to attend a major supply chain gathering in Beijing -- his third trip to China this year, Chinese state media says.
NDTV
16-07-2025
- Business
- NDTV
A Timeline Of How The US-China Microchip War Escalated
China: The United States has in recent years sought to curb exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China, with Nvidia and other US chip companies lobbying against its tough restrictions. As Nvidia says it will resume sales of a less powerful AI semiconductor model to China, here is a run-down of the microchip conflict: August 2022: Biden's Chips Act Joe Biden, then US president, signs a bill to boost domestic chipmaking, an industry Washington fears China could come to dominate through mammoth state-backed investments. The Chips and Science Act includes around $52 billion to promote the production of microchips, the tiny components that power almost all modern machinery. October 2022: Export controls Washington suddenly restricts exports of some high-end microchips -- crucial to the manufacturing of powerful AI systems -- to China on national security grounds. The rules, which also toughen requirements on the sale of semiconductor equipment, aim to limit Beijing's access to state-of-the-art chips with military applications. China says the United States is attempting to "maliciously block and suppress Chinese businesses". December 2022: Blacklist The US blacklists 36 Chinese companies, including advanced chip producers, severely restricting their use of American semiconductor manufacturing tech and designs. Many of them have close ties to China's defence sector, with some linked to efforts to develop hypersonic and ballistic missile systems. October 2023: US tightens curbs A year after those restrictions -- and following the November 2023 release of OpenAI's generative AI chatbot ChatGPT -- Washington tightens the screws on China. As the world discovers the powers of AI, the release by China-owned Huawei of a new smartphone featuring a powerful home-grown advanced chip also sparks US alarm. Attention has so far been focused on Nvidia's industry-leading H100 chip, but the export curbs are widened to other, lower-performing semiconductors made by Nvidia and its peers. December 2024 - January 2025: Biden's final moves In the weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House, Biden imposes a series of new rules on high-end chip exports to China. One of them requires authorisations for exports, re-exports and in-country transfers -- a bid to avert any circumvention of chip supply to China from other nations. There are some exceptions for countries considered friendly to the United States, but most face a cap on imports of advanced chips. "The US leads the world in AI now -- both AI development and AI chip design -- and it's critical that we keep it that way," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says. The new rules will take effect in 120 days -- giving Trump's incoming administration time to potentially make changes. January 2025: Deepseek moment Chinese firm DeepSeek's artificial intelligence chatbot soars to the top of the Apple download charts, stunning industry insiders and analysts with its ability to match its US competitors. May 2025: Trump reverses Biden-era controls The Trump administration rescinds some of the chip export controls, answering calls by countries who said they were shut out from crucial technology needed to develop AI. Some US lawmakers feared the cap would have incentivised countries to go to China for AI chips, spurring the superpower's evolution into a tech superpower. As an alternative, the US Commerce Department reminds AI actors that using Huawei Ascend, the Chinese tech giant's most advanced chip, violates US export controls -- something Beijing later slams as "bullying". April 2025: H20 blocked Nvidia has developed new H20 semiconductors -- a less powerful version of its AI processing units designed specifically for export to China. But the tech giant says it has been told by Washington that it must obtain licences to ship the H20s to China because of concerns they may be used in supercomputers there. July 2025: H20 sales resume Nvidia says it will resume sales of its H20 chips to China, after Washington pledged to remove the licensing curbs. CEO Jensen Huang is expected to attend a major supply chain gathering in Beijing -- his third trip to China this year, Chinese state media says.
Business Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Chipmakers win bigger tax credit under bill passed by Senate
[WASHINGTON] Sweeping tax legislation passed by the Senate on Tuesday (Jul 1) would make it cheaper for semiconductor manufacturers to build plants in the US, delivering a win to chipmakers and boosting US efforts to expand the industry domestically. Companies such as Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Micron Technology will be eligible for an investment tax credit of 35 per cent if they break ground on new plants before an existing 2026 deadline. That's a jump from the existing 25 per cent and tops an increase to 30 per cent envisioned in a draft proposal. The semiconductor manufacturing provision was tucked into a nearly 900-page bill that represents the heart of US President Donald Trump's economic agenda. House lawmakers are now set to take up the legislation with a goal of sending it to Trump for his signature by Jul 4. Increases to the credit would sweeten a key incentive created under the 2022 Chips and Science Act, a bipartisan law signed by president Joe Biden. The programme also includes US$39 billion in grants and as much as US$75 billion in loans for manufacturing projects, designed to boost the American semiconductor industry after decades of production shifting to Asia. The tax credit, which is not capped, was already likely to be costlier than those other forms of subsidies – a function of how much investment the Chips Act has spurred. In almost every case, it will account for the greatest share of incentives going to any one company, including those that did not win grant awards. Major beneficiaries of the grant programme include Intel, TSMC, Micron and Samsung Electronics. Trump earlier this year called for repealing the Chips Act, but lawmakers in both parties have shown little desire to eliminate subsidies that provide high-paying jobs in their districts, in a sector seen as critical to national security. The Commerce Department, meanwhile, has continued to implement the grant programme, while urging larger investments and reworking the terms of awards that took months to negotiate. So far, the Trump administration has secured increases in promised investment from TSMC, Micron and GlobalFoundries, which the White House has touted as evidence that Trump's policies are working. None of those included additional Chips Act grants beyond what had already been finalised or proposed. Still, more company spending on projects very likely means more foregone government revenue in the form of tax credits – a number that would grow if the Senate bill becomes law. Companies that commence projects by the end of next year can continue to claim credits for continuous construction after that date – a policy aimed at getting sites started while recognising that chip factories take years to build. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Struggling semiconductor firm Wolfspeed files for bankruptcy
[NEW YORK] Wolfspeed, a chipmaker caught in US President Donald Trump's push to reshape Biden-era tech subsidies, filed bankruptcy to enact a creditor-backed plan to slash US$4.6 billion in debt. The North Carolina-based company filed petitions for reorganisation under Chapter 11, according to a statement released on Monday (Jun 30). It expects to emerge out of bankruptcy by the end of the third quarter, it said. The filing marks one of the largest bankruptcies so far this year, behind only Brazilian airline Azul and satellite company Ligado Networks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A restructuring agreement is supported by a majority of holders of its senior secured notes, its convertible debtholders and Renesas Electronics, a major customer in Japan, the company said. The company expects to further focus on 200mm silicon carbide wafer manufacturing, Robert Feurle, Wolfspeed's chief executive officer, said. Just days prior to the filing, Wolfspeed said it had struck a restructuring deal and intended to file Chapter 11. Wolfspeed, which makes semiconductors, has been in discussions with lenders, including Apollo Global Managemen,t on its debt load and sought to refinance convertible bonds due next year. The chipmaker has said it will cut bond debt and a loan from Renesas by swapping that debt for equity in the reorganised company. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Short sellers, bearish investors who make money when a stock declines, have piled into Wolfspeed this year as the company's woes snowballed. In the past few months, Wolfspeed announced changes to its management team and had warned of the prospect of a bankruptcy, saying that it had hired advisers to help address its debt load. To expand production, the firm won a US$750 million award last year from the federal government under the Chips and Science Act, which had been backed by former President Joe Biden. But since Trump took office in January, his administration has been reworking many of the awards. Wolfspeed has only collected part of the money and has been locked in negotiations with the administration about the award, according to a regulatory filing. BLOOMBERG
Mint
27-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Wolfspeed Plans Bankruptcy After Clinching Deal With Creditors
(Bloomberg) -- Wolfspeed Inc. is planning to file for bankruptcy by July 1 with a deal to slash its debt by about $4.6 billion and hand over control to convertible noteholders. The chipmaker, caught in President Donald Trump's push to reshape Biden-era tech subsidies, said late Sunday it reached a restructuring agreement with a majority of its creditors and Renesas Electronics Corp., a major customer based in Japan, to cut its debt by 70% and reduce annual interest expenses by 60%. Bloomberg reported last week that the Durham, North Carolina-based company was in talks with creditors including Apollo Global Management Inc. to hand them control and prepare for a prepackaged bankruptcy filing. Under the plan, Wolfspeed's existing shareholders will keep a stake of as much as 5% in the restructured entity, as reported by Bloomberg. Wolfspeed's shares fell as much as 32.2% on Monday. Wolfspeed said it expects to emerge from court protection by the end of the third quarter this year, subject to court approval. In May, the company warned of the prospect of a bankruptcy, saying that it had hired advisers to help address its debt load. To expand production, the firm won a $750 million award last year from the federal government under the Chips and Science Act, which had been backed by former President Joe Biden. Since Trump took office in January, his administration has been reworking many of the awards. Wolfspeed has only collected part of the money and has been locked in negotiations with the administration about the award, according to a regulatory filing. The restructuring deal was agreed with 97% of Wolfspeed's senior secured noteholders, and 67% of the convertible noteholders, according to the statement. Renesas said it agreed to convert its $2.1 billion deposit into convertible notes, common stock and warrants, according to a separate press release. As part of the restructuring agreement, the company will receive new $275 million of second-lien convertible bonds from some of its existing holders. More stories like this are available on
