TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung face uncertainty regarding funding from the CHIPS Act, vital to their US expansion, after Donald Trump’s presidential win on Wednesday (Nov. 6). 

Trump disapproved of the CHIPS Act, passed under President Joe Biden in August 2022, per Nikkei Asia. The legislation supported US domestic chip production by funding the building of semiconductor plants on American soil. 

Appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast in October, Trump said instead of the CHIPS Act, which he called “so bad,” he would rely on tariffs to make companies produce semiconductors in the US. Trump complained, “We put billions of dollars for rich companies to come in and borrow the money and build chip companies here, and they’re not going to give us the good companies anyway.”  

Intel, TSMC, and Samsung are the largest recipients of CHIPS ACT funding, at US$8.5 billion (NT$274.2 billion), US$6.6 billion, and US$6.4 billion, respectively. Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung were also promised government loans and investment tax credits in preliminary agreements, which Trump could change the terms of before a final agreement, the report said. 

The CHIPS Act is vital to US expansion plans, and the distribution of funds directly affects the speed and scale of construction, the chipmakers said. However, due to the complexity of the deals, most funds are unlikely to be distributed before Biden leaves office. 

TSMC and Samsung have already faced production delays at their US fabs. Reports said that the Asian companies faced setbacks due to higher costs, labor shortages, and differences in work culture. 

Due to labor issues, TSMC postponed the target for its first Arizona fab from 2024 to 2025 and its second fab from 2027 to 2028. Samsung, due to insufficient yields, postponed production at its Texas fab from 2024 to 2026. 

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Rob Atkinson said the Biden administration needed to get the money out the door. He asked, “Why would you give the next administration a choice to not spend the money?”

Atkinson added that Trump may choose not to repeal the CHIPS Act since TSMC’s Arizona fabs and Samsung’s Texas plant are in states with strong Republican backing. The money has already been appropriated by Congress and cannot be redirected elsewhere, but Atkinson said Trump may still try to slow or limit the grant distribution.