Trump says he told TSMC it would pay 100 per cent tax if it doesn’t build in US

(Adds TSMC declining to comment, paragraph 4)

WASHINGTON, April 9 — President Donald Trump yesterday said he told the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, which has pledged to build new factories in the United States, it would pay a tax of up to 100 per cent if it did not build its plants in the country.

Speaking at a Republican National Congressional Committee event, Trump criticised former President Joe Biden’s administration for providing a US$6.6 billion (RM29.6 billion) grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona, saying semiconductor companies do not need the money.

“TSMC, I gave them no money… all I did was say, if you don’t build your plant here, you’re going to pay a big tax,” Trump said.

TSMC declined to comment.

In March, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, said at the White House that it plans to make a fresh US$100 billion investment in the US that includes building five additional chip facilities in coming years.

Earlier yesterday, Reuters reported the chipmaker could face a penalty of US$1 billion or more to settle a US export control investigation over a chip it made that ended up inside a Huawei Technologies AI processor. — Reuters