US President Donald Trump, during his first address to Congress since returning to the White House, asked legislators to repeal the Chips Act, a multibillion-dollar bipartisan bill aimed at boosting semiconductor production.
“Your Chips Act is a horrible, horrible thing,” he told Republicans and Democrats during the Tuesday night address, watched by millions around the world.
“We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesn't mean a thing. They take our money and they don't spend it.”
The 2022 Chips Act was seen as a rare moment of bipartisan unity that was signed into law by president Joe Biden, as his administration sought to bolster the economy while also attempting to counter China and ensure that the US maintains its competitiveness against Beijing in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.
More specifically, it provided $52.7 billion for semiconductor research, development, manufacturing and workplace development, benefiting companies such as Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Samsung and Micron Technology.
Mr Trump appeared to simply want to dismiss one of Mr Biden's accomplishments, as he did several times in his speech, but some experts say there are fundamental governing approaches fuelling his disdain for the Chips Act.
“President Trump believes in negative incentives,” Peter Yacobucci, a political science professor at Buffalo State University, told The National. “For him, the way you get people or businesses to do what you want is you make it very uncomfortable for them … and, by the way, this is exactly how he wants Ukrainian aid to play out.”
The Chips Act, Prof Yacobucci said, works on positive incentives – offering a carrot in the hopes that it will reduce the cost to businesses and banking on the idea that businesses will make investment decisions accordingly.
“Many, including myself, have argued that these positive incentives are little more than corporate welfare that drains funds from real pressing societal needs. That comes through in Trump's comments,” he said.
Prof Yacobucci added that there is an interesting twist, however, to Mr Trump's demands that the Chips Act be repealed.
There are similar legislative policies that provide billions in subsidies to some of Mr Trump's most loyal and enthusiastic allies – such as Tesla's Elon Musk – which have given a major boost to government investments via taxpayer dollars.
“Mr Trump may rail against electric car incentives but Tesla as a car company would not exist without them,” Prof Yacobucci said.
Despite his speech being routinely interrupted by enthusiastic applause from Republicans, the reaction to Mr Trump's demand that Congress repeal the Chips Act was more subdued.
Prof Yacobucci said it's not necessarily a surprise that his fiery request to repeal the Chips Act was met with a tepid response.
“I would expect that any dramatic cut in Chips support is dead on arrival in Congress,” he said. “Republicans stand for one thing primarily: funnelling money to their donor class.”
Right before he bashed the Chips Act, Mr Trump boasted of his recently announced deal with TSMC, with the chip maker pledging to invest at least $100 billion to bolster manufacturing and research in the US.
“And we're not giving them any money,” he said, contrasting it with the Chips Act. “They will come because they won’t have to pay tariffs if they build in America. So, it's very amazing.”
The Trump administration's announcement on Monday of the TSMC deal came days after Apple pledged to invest at least $500 billion in the US over the next four years, although contrary to claims made in Mr Trump's congressional speech, Apple never mentioned the President when it announced its investment plans.
There remains much debate as to how much of Apple's announcement was already planned before Mr Trump returned to the White House.
All these recent moves, however, are taking place against the backdrop of increased technology company tension and geopolitical jockeying for AI supremacy.
“They'll be building their plants here instead of in China,” Mr Trump claimed, seemingly referring to Apple, TSMC and other technology companies.
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Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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The%20specs
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SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
5pm: RB Hot Spot
5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
6pm: Taamol
6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NBA Finals so far
(Toronto lead 3-1 in best-of-seven series_
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
Barbie
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The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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