Washington, Oct 15 — US President Donald Trump has said the US would make half of the world’s semiconductors after Taiwan’s TSMC invested $265 billion in Arizona, and claimed drug makers were moving production back to the US from countries including Ireland, China and Britain.
Addressing a midterm election rally on Wednesday (local time) in Bullhead City, Arizona, Trump took credit for the TSMC project in the state.
“I’m the one that got the great Taiwanese, Taiwan, Taiwanese company TSMC… It’s $265 billion… you’re going to have the largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities,” Trump said.
“I think we’ll have 50 per cent of the world’s chips. Right now we have 0 per cent,” he added.
“The construction alone is currently employing more than 6,000 people,” he said.
Trump said US chip maker GlobalFoundries would also expand.
“GlobalFoundries will be investing $21 billion to build two massive new semiconductor factories in upstate New York,” he said.
He also pointed to the government’s deal with Intel. “We made $72 billion profit. I did a deal with Intel,” Trump said. He also cited “$10 billion on TikTok”.
The President did not explain how those figures were calculated, or distinguish between announced investment commitments and money already spent.
On pharmaceuticals, Trump said US drug makers were reshoring production.
“Eli Lilly just announced they’re coming in with many medical plants, Merck, Pfizer. All of our drug business is coming back. It’s made now in Ireland and China and the UK. It’s all coming back. They’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars,” he said.
He said his most-favoured-nation drug pricing policy had sharply lowered costs.
“Drug prices went from the highest anywhere in the world to the lowest… our drugs are going to be cut by 50, 60, 70, 80 per cent,” Trump said.
He did not provide data to support the claim.
Trump also cited $21.2 trillion in investment commitments to the US, his 50 per cent tariff on copper and the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona, which he said would create 3,700 jobs.
Trump did not mention India in his remarks.
India is building its own semiconductor industry under the India Semiconductor Mission, which has approved several fabrication and chip-assembly projects.
India is also a leading supplier of generic medicines to the US, accounting for a large share of generic prescriptions filled in the country. Trump named Ireland, China and the UK, but not India, as places from which drug production was returning.
US moves to bring medicine and chip manufacturing home are closely watched by Indian pharmaceutical exporters and by New Delhi as it seeks to attract chip investment.