TSMC confident in continued CHIPS Act funding under Trump, says CFO

US President-elect Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of “stealing” his country’s chip industry. But Taiwan’s largest chip company is confident that the Trump administration will continue to fund its projects in the United States

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co has been pledged $6.6 billion under the administration of Joe Biden CHIPS and Science ACT to help build three state-of-the-art chip manufacturing facilities in Arizona as part of the U.S. efforts onshore chip manufacturing.

Speaking to CNBC’s Emily Tan in an exclusive interview, TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said funding was expected to continue gradually under Trump as manufacturing plants move through construction and production phases.

“In fact, in the fourth quarter, we have already received the first batch of government support,” Haung said, revealing that the contract chip maker had received $1.5 billion in funds.

After some production delaysthe first manufacturing plant in Arizona began producing advanced chips in the fourth quarter of last year, Huang said.. He added that the construction of two plants in Arizona was on track, with the second scheduled to be operational in 2028.

TSMC first investment in Arizona was announced in May 2020, with the company’s total investment in its three projects eventually in excess of $65 billion.

Most of the investments were committed after the Biden administration signed the bipartisan CHIPS Act in August 2022, committing nearly $53 billion to invest in the domestic semiconductor supply chain and against China.

While the incoming president is also expected to do so competition with China and manufacturing onshoring a priority in his second mandate, there has been debate as to whether Trump and the Republican-led House should reconsider the CHIPS Act.

During his campaign for the White House, Trump publicly criticized the bill and its price, arguing instead that tariffs were a more effective strategy for onshore chip manufacturing. The president-elect also accused Taiwan of “to steal“U.S. Chip Deal.

However, industry experts told CNBC that they expect Trump to leave politics behind mostly intact because of its bipartisan support in Washington.

TSMC Thursday record profit ratio for the fourth quarter on strong demand for its AI chips, sending its shares up nearly 4%. The stock closed 1.36% higher on Friday.

In an earnings call following the results, CEO and President CC Wei highlighted TSMC’s “long and good relationship” with the US government and the commitment and support it has received to the federal, state and city level.

“Let me assure you that we have a very frank and open communication with the current government and also with the future,” he said in response to an investor question.

On Thursday, Wei also said the company would not attend Trump’s inauguration as it prefers to keep a low profile.