Trump not to seek equity from chipmakers with investment plans in US

By Josh Wingrove

 

The Trump administration will not seek equity stakes in chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Micron Technology Inc. that are boosting their US investments, as talks continue on taking a stake in Intel Corp., a US official said.

 

Companies that are boosting investment pledges in the US will not be pressed to offer equity in exchange for funding such as from the Chips Act, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the administration’s thinking. 

 

Micron has pledged $200 billion in US investment, while TSMC has pledged to invest an additional $100 billion.  

 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has signaled that President Donald Trump wants to see more direct benefits in exchange for government funding to boost key companies. “We’ll get equity in return for it, get a good return for the American taxpayer instead of just giving grants away,” Lutnick told CNBC this week.

 

The highest-profile equity example to date is Intel, where the Trump administration is in talks to take a potential 10 per cent stake in the company, including by converting Chips Act funding into shares. The administration has not fully detailed its talks with Intel, or which companies it may be having similar discussions with.

 

The push by Trump follows moves to seek a cut of certain chip sales to China and a so-called golden share in United States Steel Corp. — breaking from a more free market orthodoxy that has typically dominated the Republican Party. 

 

Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, has criticized the strategy. “State-owned enterprise is not the American way,” he told Bloomberg Television on Thursday.

 

The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The plan to not seek equity from TSMC and Micron was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.