On Thursday, General Motors Co and chipmaker GlobalFoundries Inc announced a long-term deal to secure US-made processors that will enable it to avoid factory-halting chip shortages that have kept millions of cars from being built during the pandemic.

GlobalFoundries said the minimum three-year agreement is the first of its kind and establishes dedicated capacity at its upstate New York manufacturing facility for GM’s primary chip supplier.

In his State of the Union address two days ago, President Joe Biden praised the passage of the $52 billion Chips and Science Act, which aims to bring chip manufacturing back to the US, pointing to new approaches by automakers to protect semiconductors.

It also highlights new ways chipmakers can fund US expansion, using money from customers who need dedicated semiconductor capacity and money from the federal government.

GlobalFoundries CEO Tom Caulfield told Reuters he believes supporting US manufacturing makes the company competitive as it seeks some funding.

GM told Reuters it is working to simplify the number of unique chips in its vehicles. But it is securing the capacity of its suppliers to make the chips, as the total number of chips is expected to increase.

GM rival Ford Motor Co said last week that its inability to obtain chips and other supply chain issues led to a $2 billion shortfall in fourth-quarter profit compared with the company’s forecast.

In late 2021, at the height of the chip shortage, GlobalFoundries and Ford announced a non-binding agreement that may involve ramping up Ford’s production capacity.

Few details of Ford’s arrangement were provided at the time, and few have been released since.

GlobalFoundries is in talks with nearly every major global automaker, and GM’s agreement doesn’t mean there won’t be additional deals with other manufacturers, Caulfield said.

According to Auto Forecast Solutions, by the end of 2023, nearly 18 million vehicles will have been removed from production since the chip shortage began.

The shortage of automotive chips has dramatically changed how automakers deal with chip suppliers, who previously had little direct contact.

Several car companies have set up teams and divisions to secure chip supplies better and consider designing digital platforms for future cars.

Last year, chipmakers told Reuters it was time for the auto industry to shoulder some of the investment burdens for the multibillion-dollar facilities needed to produce chips.