TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Economics Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) responded on Wednesday (July 24) to U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s accusations that Taiwan stole America’s chip industry.  

In a Bloomberg interview on June 25, Trump accused Taiwan of stealing "all our chip business" from the U.S. He first made the claims in 2023, saying the U.S. should have imposed tariffs against Taiwan. 

In addition, when asked if he would defend Taiwan against China, the former president said Taiwan should pay for its own defense. He said the U.S. was “no different than an insurance company” and that Taiwan “doesn’t give us anything.” 

In a CNA interview on Wednesday, Kuo responded that it was unfair to say that Taiwan had stolen chip manufacturing from the U.S. He said he believes that Trump was “misled.”

Kuo said he believes the misunderstanding is in part due to insufficient lobbying in the U.S. capital by Taiwan's government and companies. Most large companies will hire personnel to lobby on behalf of their interests, such as South Korea’s Samsung Electronics which has 300 lobbyists, he said. 

In contrast, there are only about six lobbyists from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), GlobalWafers Co., Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), and Mediatek, according to Kuo. Their influence is weak, and Taiwan needs to lobby harder in Washington, D.C. to influence Trump, the minister said. 

Kuo said that if Trump is elected, there is a high possibility that tariffs will be raised on foreign imported products. However, the minister said that Taiwan's overseas and domestic strategies can adapt and respond to high tariffs.

Kuo added his administration’s policy of bringing Taiwanese supply chain companies like TSMC to America could mitigate the impact. TSMC is building three fabs in Arizona, and "by manufacturing locally, we increase your GDP," the minister said.