Chipmakers meet with automotive CEOs on the eve of US $52 billion chip bill signing

The heads of chipmakers Microchip and Applied Material, as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors, have held a closed-door summit with US government officials to discuss the government's plans to invest in semiconductors.

On Tuesday, the US president will sign a bill that will provide $52 billion in subsidies for chip manufacturing and research. It also includes a tax credit for investment in chip factories, estimated to be worth $24 billion.

In a statement, Microchip CEO Thomas Caulfield said the chip legislation would "protect the U.S. economy, supply chain and national security by accelerating the pace of domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

The legislation aims to alleviate the ongoing chip shortage that has affected the supply of goods such as cars, washing machines and video games. Thousands of cars and trucks remain parked in southeast Michigan awaiting the arrival of chips as the shortage continues to affect automakers.

Several companies said the summit will allow them to "discuss with government officials how these public investments can accelerate semiconductor and emerging technology manufacturing and support the electrification of vehicles with an off-the-shelf supply of chips."

Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for procurement, and Tarun Chhabra, an official with the National Security Council, will be among the officials attending the conference.

In a statement, Ford CEO Jim Farley said, "A reliable domestic supply of chips, including the legacy semiconductors needed by the automotive and defense industries, will keep the U.S. production lines running."