By Wen-Yee Lee
HSINCHU, Taiwan (Reuters) -Taiwan’s GlobalWafers said on Friday its investments in the United States were proceeding as planned as the company had not been notified of changes to agreed subsidies under the U.S. CHIPS Act.
The U.S. Commerce Department said in December it had finalised $406 million in government grants to GlobalWafers for projects in Texas and Missouri to significantly increase production of silicon wafers in the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new administration, however, is seeking to renegotiate U.S. CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signalled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
GlobalWafers had previously told Reuters that the CHIPS Program Office had told the company that certain conditions that do not align with Trump’s executive orders and policies are under review for all CHIPS Direct Funding Agreements.
It also said it had not been notified directly by Washington of any changes to the conditions or terms of its awards.
Speaking to reporters in Taiwan’s chip hub of Hsinchu, GlobalWafers CEO Doris Hsu repeated that the company had not received any notifications of upcoming modifications but that if the CHIPS act was indeed modified it would need to reassess.
“We don’t know what will happen, but if the CHIPS Act is indeed modified and we are affected, we will need to reassess our subsequent investments,” Hsu added.
That would involve evaluating demand in the United States and prices that can be tolerated there, and whether it would be more beneficial for GlobalWafers to expand in the United States or produce in Taiwan, considering possible tariffs, she said.
“However, at this moment, everything is hypothetical and hasn’t happened yet, as we haven’t received any notification about required actions. For now, everything is proceeding according to the original plan.”
GlobalWafers has secured contracts worth $406 million, she added.
The company has not received the funding from the United States yet, but that is because it needs to reach specific milestones this year, Hsu said.
“We have a first milestone to achieve, and once we reach it, we will submit the necessary documentation to the relevant authorities for review,” Hsu said.
The company is not changing its U.S. expansion plan, which is under way at three plants across the country, she added.
Asked about the impact of U.S. import tariffs, which Trump has threatened to roll out across the board, Hsu said GlobalWafers was well positioned due to its existing three factories in the United States and its global presence.
“This provides us with more strategies to cope with potential tariff impacts,” she said.
(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Gerry Doyle and Susan Fenton)
