{"id":10348,"date":"2025-08-23T11:02:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greatamericanewsdesk.com\/?p=10348"},"modified":"2025-08-23T11:13:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T15:13:26","slug":"us-takes-10-stake-in-intel-under-trump-to-strengthen-chip-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatamericanewsdesk.com\/defense-news\/us-takes-10-stake-in-intel-under-trump-to-strengthen-chip-production\/phouck\/2025\/08\/","title":{"rendered":"US Takes 10% Stake In Intel Under Trump To Strengthen Chip Production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A public-private deal aims to bring microchip manufacturing back to American soil \u2014 and deliver taxpayer returns in the process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Strategic Bet on Semiconductors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump announced Friday<\/a> that chipmaker Intel agreed to give the U.S. government a 9.9% equity stake, valued at $8.9\u202fbillion. The move, the first of its kind under the CHIPS and Science Act, is intended to strengthen domestic semiconductor capacity and ensure that federal subsidies come with direct returns for taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve agreed to do it, and I think it\u2019s a great deal for them,\u201d Trump told reporters during a briefing. The agreement follows internal administration discussions about using existing Commerce Department funding to acquire a stake in Intel, an effort confirmed earlier in the week by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stake is expected to be funded through the CHIPS Act and the Department of Defense\u2019s Secure Enclave program. It will be a passive investment, meaning the government will not receive board seats, governance rights, or special access to information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intel Under Scrutiny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump also shed light on how the agreement came about \u2014 including a conversation with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, whose background had drawn criticism from Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) raised alarms over Tan\u2019s past leadership of Cadence Design Systems, which in 2008 pleaded guilty to illegally exporting chip design software to a Chinese military university. Tan\u2019s investments in China-based firms had also raised national security concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said, \u2018Well that\u2019s right, he should resign,\u2019\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd he came in, he saw me, we talked for a while. I liked him a lot. I thought he was very good. I thought he was somewhat a victim, but, you know, nobody\u2019s a total victim, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following their meeting, Trump floated the idea that Intel should offer a 10% equity share to the U.S. government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018I would consider that,\u2019\u201d Trump recalled. \u201cIntel has been left behind, as you know, compared to [Nvidia CEO] Jensen [Huang] and some of our friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commerce: \u201cWe Can\u2019t Rely on Taiwan\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Commerce Secretary Lutnick emphasized that the deal has more to do with national security than boardroom politics. In an interview on CNBC\u2019s Squawk Box<\/em>, Lutnick pointed out<\/a> that Taiwan, which manufactures over 90% of the world\u2019s most advanced semiconductors, sits just 80 miles from China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot rely on Taiwan, which is 9,500 miles away from us and only 80 miles from China,\u201d Lutnick said. \u201cSo, you can\u2019t have 99 percent of leading-edge chips made in Taiwan. We want to make them here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the administration wants to ensure that U.S. companies are capable of producing next-generation chip nodes domestically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of those pieces is, it would be lovely to have Intel be capable of making a U.S. node or a U.S. transistor \u2014 driving that in America,\u201d Lutnick added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Rare Bipartisan Signal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The move drew support across ideological lines, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) praising the basic premise<\/a>: that if the federal government is handing out billions in subsidies, the public should see a share of the profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. Taxpayers should not be providing billions of dollars in corporate welfare to large, profitable corporations like Intel without getting anything in return,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIf microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Everyone on Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some conservatives pushed back against the concept of government equity stakes in private corporations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

MAGA thinks that the government forceably taking a stake in a private company is a good thing?

Its a precedent that Democrats will use, and I guarantee you, will make America LESS competitive in the long run.

Its a huge mistake.

Frankly, I'd rather Intel goes bankrupt.<\/p>— Pradheep J. Shanker, M.D. (@neoavatara) August 22, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>