Former US President Trump Claims Taiwan Took Chip Industry, Vows to Boost US Production Before Leaving Office

Former US President Donald Trump has reiterated in a recent interview that Taiwan took the vast majority of the chip industry and stated his intention to ensure the US possesses sixty percent of chip manufacturing capacity before he leaves office. This rhetoric, which has surfaced multiple times before, lays bare the ongoing American ambition to covet Taiwan's semiconductor sector. Political parties within Taiwan have subsequently urged the local administration to issue a stern response.

It is noteworthy that Raymond Greene, Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, echoed Trump's statements on the 2nd, emphasizing efforts to relocate Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain to the United States through cooperation on drone technology. Commentators have pointed out that the US is simultaneously attempting to appropriate Taiwan's industry while advancing a strategy of using Taiwan to contain China, leaving Taiwan passively positioned as a pawn in America's game.

Trump has previously expressed dissatisfaction on multiple occasions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) and Taiwan's semiconductor industry as a whole. In an earlier interview with Fox News, he stated directly that Taiwan had "stolen" America's chip industry. Trump also expressed a desire for all Taiwanese chip companies to invest and build factories in the US, aiming to increase the US share of global chip production capacity to between 40% and 50%, or even higher, by the end of his potential term.

Since Trump's first term, the US government has employed various measures, including subsidies and tariffs, to incentivize Taiwanese semiconductor firms like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to establish manufacturing presence in the United States. In March 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing CEO C.C. Wei visited the White House to meet with Trump. They announced that the company would construct three additional wafer fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and one research and development center in the US, supplementing the three plants originally planned. The company's total investment in the US was consequently increased significantly from $65 billion to $165 billion.

On May 12th, the board of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing approved an additional capital injection of $20 billion into its US subsidiary to fund factory construction in Arizona.