According to Taiwan’s mnews.tw, US President Donald Trump has told Taipei it will slash the punishing 20 per cent tariffs on Taiwanese exports to the US, but only if TSMC forks over a cheque for a 49 per cent stake in Chipzilla and invest $400 billion investment into the US tech ecosystem.

That’s on top of the $165 billion TSMC has already earmarked for its US fabs, including two under-construction plants in Arizona, a packaging facility, and a research centre. One fab has already reached volume production, yet apparently it is still not enough to satisfy Washington.

The plan, if real, is little short of madness. TSMC buying nearly half of Intel would create an unholy mess of conflicts, regulatory snags, and shareholder rage, not to mention an epic culture clash. But for the US, the move looks less about business and more about desperation.

Chipzilla is on the ropes. Revenue has cratered from $79 billion in 2021 to just $53 billion in 2024. Its fabs are bleeding money, the consumer business is fading, and the much-hyped CHIPS Act cash hasn’t been enough to plug the gap. The Ohio megafab project, once flagged for 2025, is now pushed out to 2030 or later.

With no real recovery in sight, and Lip-Bu Tan’s internal war with the board already paralysing any forward motion, it seems the US administration is looking to TSMC for a bailout that American capital markets won’t provide.

TSMC, for its part, has not confirmed anything. And it’s hard to imagine the Taiwanese government or shareholders cheering a plan to pour nearly half a trillion dollars into a rival company that's been losing ground for over a decade.