At the beginning of August, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, promulgated the Semiconductor and Science Act, with the purpose of promoting the production of chips in that country through the release of 52,000 million dollars as an incentive for technology companies. and this will also have an impact in Mexico.
Diego Garza, director of channels and alliances at Intel, comments that during the pandemic the chip industry experienced “complex situations where supply chains proved not to be as resilient as we expected.” However, as demand begins to normalize, these types of initiatives help materialize their efforts to build new factories to meet future consumer needs.
In the White House they assure that this law will promote the research, development and production of American semiconductors, in order for the United States to be a leader in technology, since this is the basis of multiple devices, from smartphones or computers, to automobiles and defense systems.
Garza adds that for Intel, Biden’s action represents a positive impact on the industry both globally and in Mexico. It should be remembered that a few months ago, the company announced an investment of 20,000 million dollars to build two new plants in Ohio.
For Mexico, the executive points out, it is important that the supply chains come closer and balance each other through these incentives, since one of their collateral effects will be to attract investment. A factory is not necessarily going to be built in the country, he mentions, but the injections could be given around the activity that they already have in Mexico.
Specifically in Guadalajara, Intel has its Design Center, which is one of the validation sites for the firm worldwide and in which a recent investment of 8 million dollars for its update was also announced.
“The benefit will come in phases,” Garza mentions, and it is that he refers that the investments from the incentives of the US government will have an impact for Mexico in generating employment, attracting investment and developing talent much more. diverse.
In this regard, it highlights that although there are 50 jobs in the Mexico City offices, in Guadalajara they have more than 1,800 people who are dedicated to the validation of code and electronic design of processors of the future, of which 700 were hired during 2021 “These strategies obviously have a positive impact in Mexico and not only in our generations, but also in those that continue in the country,” he points out.
When will the effects of US investments in Mexico be seen?
On August 25, Biden signed an executive order to put his ambitious plan into action and pointed to the urgency of boosting the industry to compete against China and Taiwan in a market where there has been a pronounced shortage for two years.
“We will move as quickly as possible to deploy these funds,” said US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, while Biden ordered the establishment of an interagency council headed by national economic director Brian Deese to oversee the deployment of funds. .
Given this scenario, Garza concludes that there will be an attraction of investment in Mexico in the short term, but highlights that the development of talent in the country is one of the most important consequences, since this “is the basis of future societies.”
