Amid reports that the Donald Trump administration plans to require equity stakes from corporations receiving subsidies through the CHIPS Act, those corporations that significantly expanded their investment in the U.S. will be exempt from this requirement. Taiwan's TSMC and U.S. Micron are excluded from the stake requirement under this 'exception clause.' In contrast, other corporations like Samsung Electronics, which have not announced additional investment plans, are more likely to be required to give up equity in exchange for subsidies.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 21st (local time) that a senior official in the Trump administration stated that the U.S. Department of Commerce is not considering acquiring equity stakes in corporations like TSMC and Micron that are expanding investments in the U.S. The official noted, "The Department of Commerce is not considering acquiring equity in TSMC or Micron," but added, "Corporations that do not increase their investment commitments may have to provide equity in exchange for subsidies."
This concrete guideline came just two days after Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on the 19th that he would start securing equity stakes from corporations receiving subsidies, causing tension in the semiconductor industry. Lutnick stated at the time, "The Biden administration gave money to Intel and TSMC for free, but President Trump is changing that to 'If you want to give money, I want equity,'" indicating that TSMC and Samsung Electronics could also be subject to the equity requirement.
The Trump administration's stipulation that 'additional investment' would exempt from the equity requirement has relieved TSMC and Micron. Earlier, TSMC Chairman Wei Zhejia announced an additional investment of $100 billion (approximately 146 trillion won) after meeting with President Trump at the White House last March. Micron also announced in June that it would expand its existing investment plans.
The subsidy for the semiconductor law was determined based on individual corporations' investment plans in the U.S. last December, during the tenure of former President Joe Biden. TSMC received $6.6 billion, Micron $6.2 billion, and Samsung Electronics $4.75 billion. The Trump administration's strategy is to use these subsidies as leverage to extract larger investments from corporations.
Meanwhile, TSMC reportedly considered internally the option of returning the $6.6 billion subsidy if the U.S. government were to seek a shareholder role. It intended to block any potential government intervention in management, given its significant reliance on subsidies. With this Department of Commerce policy, TSMC seems to have successfully captured both subsidies and management independence.