Biden praised IBM’s $20 billion New York manufacturing deal. | So Good News

Poughkeepsie, NY, Oct 6 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday backed his administration’s efforts to boost U.S. semiconductor chipmaking and blue-collar jobs during a visit to an IBM Corp ( IBM.N ) factory in New York.

IBM Semiconductor Over the Next Decade mainframe technology; It once planned to invest $20 billion in New York’s Hudson Valley region to develop artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

“Where is it written that we can’t lead manufacturing in the world?” “The supply chain starts here in the United States and ends here,” Biden said.

Biden said the government’s funding is essential to boosting manufacturing and ensuring U.S. national security by producing critical goods now overseas. His administration and Democrats have directed billions in federal funds to encourage private sector spending and create jobs.

IBM’s announcement is the latest investment since Biden signed the Chips and Science bill in August, which provides $52 billion to support semiconductor chip manufacturing and research.

“America invented these chips,” Biden said.

China and the European Union have given billions in incentives to chip companies, which the White House has said requires large subsidies for private businesses.

Biden sought to capitalize on the investment announcements ahead of next month’s midterm elections. Last month he was scheduled to speak on the site of Intel Corp’s ( INTC.O ) $20 billion semiconductor manufacturing plant.

The Hudson Valley, home to IBM’s Poughkeepsie site, was an economic powerhouse during America’s Industrial Revolution, but local jobs dried up in the second half of the last century as companies fled to lower-cost locations.

IBM, which laid off thousands of people in the region in the 1990s, says it plans to become a global hub of the company’s quantum computing development, similar to today’s mainframes.

IBM did not provide a detailed breakdown of its $20 billion investment plans.

The White House said it was caused by Biden’s economic policies.

“Industrial strategy is helping to bring about a renaissance in American manufacturing and domestic investment not seen in generations,” White House National Economic Director Brian Deese told reporters at the IBM site.

On Tuesday, Micron Technology ( MU.O ) said it would invest up to $100 billion over the next 20 years in a semiconductor fabrication facility in New York that it expects to create nearly 50,000 jobs, with an initial investment of $20 billion planned for this decade.

Biden was joined by IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.

Poughkeepsie, Reporting by Nandita Bose in NY and Heather Timmons and Matthew Lewis Editing by David Shepardson in Washington

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.