The Biden administration announced Tuesday it would provide Hemlock Semiconductor with up to $325 million to build a new factory, a move that could give Democrats a political advantage in the battleground state of Michigan ahead of Election Day. There is.
The funding will support 180 manufacturing jobs in Saginaw County, which has seen close races between Republicans and Democrats in the past two presidential elections. The plant will also be constructed to produce ultra-high purity polysilicon, which is the basis for technologies such as electronics and solar panels.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a call with reporters that the funding comes from the CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. This is part of a broader industrial strategy being pursued by the campaign of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. However, former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, believes that higher tariffs and income tax cuts are better ways to support manufacturing.
“What we’ve been able to do with the CHIPS Act is not just build a few new factories, but fundamentally revitalize our nation’s semiconductor ecosystem with American workers,” Raimondo said. . “All of this is due to the vision of the Biden-Harris administration.”
Government officials said the timing of the announcement reflected the negotiation process to arrive at the terms of the subsidy, rather than political considerations. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the process.
According to the person, Hemlock Semiconductor plans to begin construction in 2026 after on-site work and begin production in 2028.
In the 2016 election, Trump narrowly won Saginaw County and the entire state of Michigan. However, both Saginaw County and Michigan flipped to Democrats in the 2020 Biden race.
