CHIPS Won’t Help China

Opponents of the CHIPS Act, which provides more than $70 billion in funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing, have spent the past two weeks cycling through weak critiques that persuaded no one—Republican support in the Senate increased between the initial procedural vote and final passage. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, as the bill moves on to the House, opponents are doubling down on their most incendiary argument, even if it’s one that bears no relationship to reality: CHIPS, they say, won’t help the U.S. outcompete China. It actually helps China.

A good illustration comes from Heritage president Kevin Roberts,...