The European Council and the European Parliament has reached an agreement on a deal that will invest $3.6 billion in EU funds — with the aim of attracting a further $43.7 billion in private investment — to build out the continent’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
Europe, like the U.S., is grappling with a fast-changing semiconductor marketplace, as governments around the world increasingly adopt more restrictive policies on the import and use of chips from overseas.
The EU’s Chips Act is broadly similar in its goals to the US CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022. Both the US and EU measures are meant as a response to post-pandemic supply chain issues that the semiconductor market has faced in recent years and to the US’ ongoing “chip war” with China, over security concerns posed by close governmental oversight of major silicon manufacturers in that country.
