40 per cent of Biden's major IRA manufacturing projects delayed: Report

WASHINGTON: About 40 per cent of "the biggest US manufacturing investments" announced in the first year of US President Joe Biden's acts to strengthen its cleantech and semiconductor supply chain have been delayed or paused, a media report said.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Chips and Science Act, launched in 2022, offered more than $400 billion in tax credits, loans and grants to boost the US cleantech and semiconductor manufacturing development, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Financial Times report.

In the first year of the program, more than $220 billion were announced. Yet, $84 billion has been delayed for two months to several years or paused indefinitely, a Financial Times investigation found.

"Slow government rollout of Chips Act funding for semiconductor projects and lack of clarity on IRA rules have left several projects at a standstill," it said.

Due to uncertainty over tax credit rules for hydrogen, Nel Hydrogen, an electrolyser manufacturer, has paused its $400-million factory project in Michigan. Due to the lack of clarity over the IRA's electric vehicle regulations, Anovion, a battery parts manufacturer in Georgia, delayed its $800-million factory by more than a year.

The delays raised doubts on Biden's ability to keep his promise to deliver jobs, the report said.