Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Former US President Donald Trump, who is vying for another White House mandate, said he believed Taiwan should pay US defense costs, claiming the country “gave us nothing”.
His comments were made as part of the interview in response to a question about whether he would defend Taiwan against threats from China. Bloomberg Businessweek Published Tuesday.
Beijing considers democratically governed Taiwan to be part of its territory, as Chinese President Xi Jinping has previously said It is said to be unified with the mainland It is a “historical necessity”.
Trump said, “Taiwan should pay us for defense costs.”
“You know, we are no different from insurance companies. Taiwan has given us nothing,” he added.
Trump appeared to tie his remarks to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, one of the most advanced in the world.
“(Taiwan) does account for about 100% of our chip business,” Trump said.
The United States was once a major player in semiconductor manufacturing, but changing trends in the industry, such as companies no longer making their own wafers, led to the rise of semiconductor manufacturers British Semiconductor. (TSMC) and other major Taiwanese companies. Taiwan is expected to account for 66% of the world’s most advanced chip production this year, according to TrendForce.
The United States is expected to account for 6% of manufacturing.
TSMC is the world’s largest and most advanced chipmaker, responsible for manufacturing chips for major U.S. companies such as apple and Nvidia.
After Trump’s remarks, TSMC’s stock price closed down 2.4% in Taiwan.
Over the years, concerns have grown over the world’s dependence on scamsCChip manufacturing coming to Taiwan, and what would happen if China attacked Taiwan.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said in 2022 that the company’s factories would “be unable to operate” if China invaded Taiwan.
“No one can control Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. through force. If you use military force or invasion, it will cause TSMC factories to be unable to operate,” Liu said.
Under the Biden administration, the United States is seeking to attract more chip manufacturing back home by allocating funds to attract companies such as TSMC and Samsung to expand production facilities.
“They have almost 100% of our chip industry, and I trust them,” Trump said. “We shouldn’t let this happen.”
He added, “Now we give them billions of dollars to make new wafers in our country and then they will take it, in other words, they will make it and then they will bring it back to the United States and their country.”
Correction: This article has been updated to the correct publication date of the Bloomberg Businessweek interview.
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