TSMC Trump secures continued CHIPS Act funding, CEO says

US President-elect Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of “stealing” his country’s chip industry. But Taiwan’s largest chip company is confident that the Trump administration will continue to fund its projects in the US

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co it has been He promised $6.6 billion Under the Joe Biden administration CHIPS and the Science ACT To help build three state-of-the-art chip manufacturing plants in Arizona as part of the U.S. effort manufacturing ground chips.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Emily Tan, TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said funding was expected to continue to be phased in under Trump as manufacturing plants hit construction and production milestones.

“In fact, in the fourth quarter, we received the first round of government support,” Haung said, revealing that the chip maker secured $1.5 billion in the contract.

After some production delaysThe first manufacturing plant in Arizona began producing advanced chips in the fourth quarter of last year, Huang said.. He added the construction of two plants in Arizona was on the way, the second was expected Starting in 2028.

TSMC’s first investment Arizona was announced in May 2020, bringing the company’s total investment in the three projects there to more than $65 billion.

Many of the investments were made after the Biden administration signed the bipartisan bill The CHIPS Act In August 2022, making a commitment almost 53 billion dollars to invest in the domestic semiconductor supply chain and take on China.

The incoming president is also expected to do so Competition with China and manufacturing onshoring priority in his second term, has been the discussion Will Trump and the Republican-led House reconsider the CHIPS Act?

During his campaign for the White House, Trump publicly criticized the bill and its price, arguing that tariffs were a more cost-effective strategy for land-based chip manufacturing. The president-elect also accused Taiwan of “stealing“The US Chip Business.

However, industry experts told CNBC that they expect Trump to leave politics mostly intact for his bipartisan support in Washington.

TSMC on Thursday reported a record profit Strong demand for its AI chips in the fourth quarter sent its shares up nearly 4%. Shares closed up 1.36% on Friday.

In an earnings call following the results, CEO and President CC Wei highlighted TSMC’s “longstanding good relationship” with the US government and the commitment and support it has received at the federal, state and city levels.

“I assure you that we have very honest and open communication with the current government and the future one as well,” he said in response to a question from investors.

On Thursday, Wei also said the company would not attend Trump’s inauguration because it wants to keep a low profile, according to a Reuters report.