President Trump has predicted that the US will control over 50% of the chip industry by the time he leaves office. That’s a staggering ambition given that US domestic semiconductor production currently sits at roughly 2% of global output.
The plan behind the prediction
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been the operational force behind this push. His stated target is slightly more modest than the president’s: 40% domestic semiconductor production by the end of Trump’s term.
The administration’s strategy rests on several pillars working simultaneously. First, there are active negotiations with Taiwan, the undisputed heavyweight of advanced chip manufacturing, to relocate substantial production capacity to US soil. Taiwan, through companies like TSMC, currently dominates the world’s most advanced chip fabrication.
Taiwan has resisted the full relocation of 50% of its capacity. Semiconductor manufacturing is Taiwan’s single most important strategic asset, both economically and geopolitically.
