Negotiators Reach Political Agreement On Chip Subsidy Programme

The Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union has stated that "negotiators have reached a provisional political agreement on the European Chips Act. The Chips Act will boost the European ecosystem for semiconductors and play a vital part in strengthening the EU’s competitiveness at the global level."

• A European Chips act will see a subsidies programme implemented in order to boost supply chain security, and also to boost competitiveness with the US following the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act 2022.
• Reuters reportsthat the EUR43bn programme, "...aims to double the bloc's share of global chip output to 20% over the next decade". According to Reuters, "...the Commission had originally proposed funding only cutting-edge chip plants, EU governments and lawmakers have expanded the scope to cover the whole value chain, including older chips and research and design facilities,"
• The EU Chips act is set to maintain the EU efforts to 'derisk' supply chains for critical components such as semiconductor microchips from China, as well as Taiwan given Western concerns of a future military attack on the island.