Spain to invest $13 billion to build microchip industry

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The Spanish government on Tuesday announced a 12.3 billion-euro ($13.2 billion) investment plan to convert the country into a major producer of microchips and help reduce the dependence of Spain and the European Union on other suppliers. The announcement in Madrid came as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was to meet with leaders of technological firms at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to explain the plan and seek further investment. Speaking in Madrid, Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Nadia Calviño said the five-year plan is aimed at enabling Spain to cover every area in the design and production of microchips, which are now considered key to all areas of modern industry. A global computer chip shortage has made it harder for consumers to get their hands on cars, computers and other modern-day necessities. The European Union has announced a $48 billion plan to become a major semiconductor producer, mirroring U.S. President Joe Biden’s $52 billion push to invest in a national chip-producing sector to ensure more production occurs domestically. She said the plan was among the most ambitious of the Spanish government's projects to reboot the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic and that it would have an effect on other sectors. The project was directed at boosting the EU’s weak position in microchip production, which Calviño said represented some 10% of the world total. She said this led to a great dependence on a small number of major producers such as Taiwan, the United States, South Korea, Japan and China. Calviño added that “the war in Ukraine makes it a priority to reinforce strategic autonomy in energy, technology, food production as well as cybersecurity.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.