Trump revives chip theft claim, heaping pressure on Taiwan semiconductor firms - digitimes

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has revived the false claim that Taiwan stole America's chip industry following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, sparking widespread... Read original →

Trump’s recycled allegations about Taiwan 'stealing' chip IP are less about facts and more about weaponizing tech nationalism ahead of the 2026 election cycle. Technically, this rhetoric risks triggering renewed U.S. export controls on EDA software and advanced packaging tools—directly jeopardizing TSMC’s Arizona fab yield ramp for 4nm/3nm nodes. Compliance burdens will surge: Taiwanese foundries may need to establish U.S.-based R&D silos and implement forensic IP tracing, inflating operational costs by over 15%. Samsung and Intel will likely exploit this moment to lobby for priority access to remaining CHIPS Act funds under a 'trusted supply chain' narrative. Over the next 18 months, the global foundry market will fracture along geopolitical trust lines—non-U.S. fabless firms fast-tracking SMIC or UMC as backups, while American designers get locked into domestic capacity. Ironically, this accelerates the very fragmentation that erodes U.S. innovation leverage long-term.