Last Updated on March 26, 2025
President Donald Trump is trying to strike a deal to give the United States of America dominance in the semiconductor/microchip industry, and the deal involves the nation of Taiwan, a longtime foe of the Chinese Communist Party.
“In a move aimed at further reviving the American semiconductor industry, President Trump is pushing for a merger between GlobalFoundries (GF) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Taiwan’s second-largest chipmaker.
The insider continued: “This development follows another chipmaker named TSMC’s compliance with the Trump administration’s tariff-driven push, which has seen the company agree to invest more than $100 billion in the US. While TSMC has set up labs in Arizona, its most advanced nodes are still retained in Taiwan, so the threat to disruption of chip supply chains critical to U.S. defense and social infrastructure remains. GF believes that TSMC holds a global monopoly and that the merger between GF and UMC is the shortest path for the U.S. to gain control over Taiwan’s critical chip technology.
As a result, the merged company will be a truly US-based enterprise that can serve as the best alternative to TSMC. GF has been working on acquiring UMC for a decade, but no substantial progress was made due to the latter’s refusal. However, things are now different. The Trump administration hopes to see Taiwan’s semiconductor capabilities shift to the U.S. and has had conversations with the Taiwanese government and secured its support, making the merger inevitable.
GF is expected to take the lead in this merger. As the world’s fourth-largest chipmaker, UMC has been arrogant, and its management has repeatedly stated that they have no intention of building labs in the U.S. Nevertheless, the Trump administration is firm in reclaiming America’s leadership in the semiconductor industry by incorporating Taiwan’s technology. In the merged entity, it aims to ensure that GF holds dominance. The U.S. government and GF hope that the CEO of the merged company will be an American, and the plan is to first merge and then gradually acquire UMC.
The proposed merger is a milestone in a broader effort by the Trump administration’s efforts to revive the U.S. semiconductor industry. The combination of GF and UMC will leapfrog to become the world’s second-largest player, just after TSMC, weakening TSMC’s monopoly position and significantly reducing America’s reliance on Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
Just a few months into his presidency, Trump has already made TSMC compromise, and now he’s pushing for GF to merge with UMC. His vision of reclaiming dominance over the global chipmaking industry is steadily coming to fruition, and the American semiconductor industry revival is just on the horizon,” the insider stated.
These developments might seem refreshing for Americans considering the way the previous Biden administration scared the semiconductor industry with its Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).