According to reports from Bloomberg citing South Korean media, Samsung Electronics Co. has delayed its production plans at the new chip factory in Taylor, Texas. This delay could impact the Biden administration's goal of increasing semiconductor supply in the United States.
Choi Siyoung, President of Samsung's semiconductor foundry business, stated at an industry event in San Francisco that the $17 billion factory is set to commence large-scale production in 2025.
In 2021, Samsung had initially announced that the factory would begin production in the second half of 2024. However, a Samsung spokesperson mentioned that the company is currently unable to confirm the production schedule.
Earlier, TSMC decided to postpone the production at its new factory in Arizona to 2025 due to a shortage of experienced construction workers and machine installation technicians.
President Biden's ambitious plan aims to boost domestic chip production in the United States to prevent future disruptions in semiconductor supply, as witnessed in 2021, resulting in significant revenue losses for several companies. The delays in production at Samsung and TSMC's new chip factories in the United States undoubtedly pose challenges to this plan.
The revised plans from TSMC and Samsung imply that their multi-billion-dollar new factories might not be operational until after next year's U.S. presidential election.
Environmental permitting issues in the United States and delays in providing financial support by the Biden administration have been persistent challenges for local semiconductor projects.
While President Biden signed the Chips Act, pledging $100 billion in support for new semiconductor factories in the United States, more than a year later, the administration has only provided $35 million in support to the U.S. subsidiary of British aerospace company BAE Systems Plc.
