Letters to Washington
| March 7, 2023

Coalition Letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Supporting Competition in CHIPS Incentives Program

The diverse group of construction and business associations undersigned urge the U.S. Department of Commerce to ensure public investments in the semiconductor industry are not needlessly constrained by anti-competitive and inflationary policies imposed through unlawful regulatory action. The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act provides $39 billion in federal grants, loans and loan guarantees to rebuild America’s semiconductor manufacturing capacities and allows companies a 25% advanced manufacturing investment tax credit.  We are concerned with the Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology’s promotion of policy that seem to give priority consideration to private-sector stakeholder applications for the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Commercial Fabrication Facilities Notice of Funding Opportunity, which pledge to require its construction contractors to execute a project labor agreement with various construction trade unions while building a semiconductor manufacturing facility.