(Reuters) -The Trump administration is considering taking equity stakes in companies receiving funds from the 2022 CHIPS Act but has no plans to seek shares in bigger semiconductor firms that are increasing their U.S. investments, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a government official.
The development follows comments made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who on Tuesday said the government is continuing to work on the possibility of taking a 10% stake in troubled chipmaker Intel.
However, the administration does not intend to take equity stakes in companies like TSMC, which are ramping up investment, the official told the Journal. Businesses not increasing their commitments may need to offer equity to the government in exchange for subsidies.
“The Commerce Department is not looking to take equity from TSMC and Micron,” the official told WSJ.
TSMC executives have already had discussions about giving back their subsidies if the administration asks to become a shareholder, according to the report.
The White House and TSMC did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
TSMC, which counts Nvidia and Apple as key clients, announced plans for a $100 billion investment in the United States during an event with President Donald Trump at the White House in March. This investment is in addition to $65 billion committed for three manufacturing facilities in the state of Arizona.
The U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act, formally known as the CHIPS and Science Act, late last year finalized subsidies of $6.6 billion for TSMC to produce semiconductors in the United States.
Besides Intel, Micron, TSMC and Samsung were among the biggest recipients of CHIPS Act funding.
In the past, the U.S. government has taken stakes in companies during periods of economic uncertainty to provide financial support and restore confidence.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
