April 15 (Reuters) - The Biden administration will award

up to $6.4 billion in grants to South Korea's Samsung

to expand its chip production in central Texas as

part of a broader effort to expand U.S. chipmaking, the

Department of Commerce said on Monday.

The funding, from the 2022 Chips and Science Act, will boost

chip production for the aerospace, defense, and auto industries

and bolster national security, administration officials told

reporters.

"The return of leading-edge chip manufacturing to America is

a major new chapter in our semiconductor industry," said White

House National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard.

Reuters previously reported that the announcement was

forthcoming.

The subsidy will support two chip production facilities, a

research center and a packaging facility, said Commerce

Secretary Gina Raimondo on the call.

It will also enable Samsung to expand its Austin, Texas,

semiconductor facility, Raimondo said.

"(These investments) will allow the U.S. to once again lead

the world, not just in semiconductor design, which is where we

do now lead, but also in manufacturing, advanced packaging, and

research and development," Raimondo said.

Samsung is expected to invest roughly $45 billion in

constructing and expanding its Texas facilities through the end

of the decade, said senior administration officials.

The U.S. investment in chip production is meant to reduce

dependence on China and Taiwan.