The Trump administration is weighing equity stakes in some companies receiving CHIPS Act funding but does not plan to seek stakes in major investors like TSMC (NYSE:TSM) and Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Reuters reported, citing a White House official.
The official confirmed a Wall Street Journal report that the administration does not intend to seek stakes in semiconductor giants such as Micron (NASDAQ:MU) and TSMC (NYSE:TSM), which are significantly increasing U.S. investments.
Earlier this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the government is considering a 10% stake in Intel (INTC) and could pursue similar deals with other grant recipients. “If we’re going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action for the American taxpayer,” Lutnick told CNBC.
While the Biden administration provided subsidies without equity, Lutnick added, “Donald Trump turned it into saying, ‘Hey, we want equity for the money.’”
At a March event with President Trump at the White House, TSMC (TSM) — which counts Nvidia and Apple among its key clients — announced a $100 billion U.S. investment on top of $65 billion already committed for three Arizona plants. Micron (MU) also expanded its U.S. investment plans in June.
TSMC executives have discussed returning subsidies if asked to offer equity stakes, the Wall Street Journal said.
The Commerce Department finalized subsidies late last year of $4.75 billion for Samsung, $6.2 billion for Micron (MU), and $6.6 billion for TSMC (TSM) to expand semiconductor production in the U.S. Much of the $52.7 billion in CHIPS Act funding is yet to be disbursed.