State aid rules are to be loosened to allow more Government subsidies for advanced chip manufacturing European Union negotiators agreed on a plan to pump funding into the microchip industry on Tuesday, in a bid to secure local production of a crucial technology that is at the centre of a global scramble. State aid rules are to be loosened to allow more government subsidies for advanced chip manufacturing, while €3.3 billion is to be earmarked for research and innovation related to the technology, under the provisional agreement reached between the European Parliament and member state negotiators. The Irish Government is…