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A 300 millimeter wafer used for semiconductor research at the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre in Leuven, Belgium. (Olivier Matthys/Bloomberg News)

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The Biden administration is laying the groundwork to spend roughly $52 billion on semiconductor research and manufacturing even as it’s awaiting congressional approval of the funding, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.

“We’re putting plans in place right now already on the team to invest the $52 billion,” she said July 22 during a White House press briefing. “We need to incentivize the manufacturing of chips in America and so we are very focused on putting the pieces in place so that can happen.”

She added that she’s engaging with industry daily and doing “a lot” to address the shortage.

Raimondo told Bloomberg News in an interview that she’s hearing signs of improvements from automakers who told her the supply crunch is getting “a little bit better” amid a global semiconductor shortage. Despite the uptick in chips allocation to the autos sector, many continue to see manufacturing delays.

Chips industry representatives expect implementation of the funding — which includes hiring more personnel at Commerce — to take up to six months.

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