Diversifying Semiconductor Supply

The Department of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Office of Multilateral Trade Affairs (EB/TPN/MTA) is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Under this NOFO, EB/TPN/MTA seeks proposals to advance U.S. foreign policy and national security priorities outlined in the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022 (Div. A, P.L. 117-167). The Act established a new International Technology Security and Innovation Fund (ITSI Fund) “to support the development and adoption of secure semiconductors, [and] semiconductor supply chains” with the goal to make the global semiconductor supply chain more resilient, diversified, and secure. EB/TPN/MTA administers a portion of the ITSI funds to help expand international semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging capacity that will in turn diversify the global semiconductor supply chain. The CHIPS Act legislated that ITSI must build diverse and resilient semiconductor supply chains for U.S.-based industry needs. The goal of this project is to bring that capacity online in ways that will be beneficial to the new U.S. semiconductor manufacturing facilities as well as our allies and partners. EB/TPN/MTA has identified the key regulatory and policy levers to attract semiconductor supply chain investments, identified workforce development needs, and on regulatory and infrastructure impediments. Programming to be funded with FY 2023 Economic Support Funds (ESF) will diversify and expand the semiconductor chip assembly, testing, and packaging (“ATP” or “downstream”) operations in key partner countries in the Americas and the Indo-Pacific region.