{"id":2608146,"date":"2026-05-29T05:40:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-will-likely-play-its-silicon-trump-card-in-security-talks-with-us\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T05:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:40:02","slug":"taiwan-will-likely-play-its-silicon-trump-card-in-security-talks-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-will-likely-play-its-silicon-trump-card-in-security-talks-with-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan will likely play its silicon &#8216;Trump card&#8217; in security talks with US"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftaiwan-will-likely-play-its-silicon-trump-card-in-security-talks-with-us%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2608146&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trumpworld insiders believe <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4570118\/trump-leaves-china-without-taiwan-arms-sale\/\">Taiwan<\/a> will likely move to leverage its semiconductor manufacturing empire, a so-called Silicon Shield, in talks with the White House as President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4585474\/us-agrees-60-day-ceasefire-iran-trump-yet-give-final-approval\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> mulls the latest sale of American weapons to the island.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United States has sold weapons to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4564423\/allies-xi-jinping-no-shot-convince-trump-change-taiwan-policy\/\">Taiwan<\/a> for decades, but the Trump administration paused the latest transfer last fall amid frosty relations with China. The subject was a core focus for Chinese President Xi Jinping when he hosted Trump for a state visit earlier this month, and Trump left Beijing without making a \u201cdetermination\u201d on the issue.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4586280\/no-kings-plans-protests-trump-80th-birthday\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>No Kings plans protests on Trump\u2019s 80th birthday<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4586028\/bessent-says-no-sanctions-relief-for-iran-until-enriched-uranium-is-handed-over\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Bessent says no sanctions relief for Iran until enriched uranium is handed over<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4585656\/watch-live-scott-bessent-white-house-press-briefing\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Bessent stands in for Leavitt at White House press briefing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, the president told reporters he would wait to decide until after speaking with Taiwanese President William Lai. A sitting U.S. president has not spoken directly with the president of Taiwan since 1979, though <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4581682\/trump-cabinet-takeaways-iran\/\">Trump<\/a> himself spoke with then-Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen when he was technically the president-elect in December 2016.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Trump-Lai call has yet to be scheduled, but two former senior Trump White House aides told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> the Taiwanese president will almost certainly point to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and the island\u2019s semiconductor industry writ large in order to grease the wheels on the weapons transfer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John Ullyot, the former National Security Council spokesman from Trump\u2019s first term, specifically referred to Taiwan\u2019s semiconductor industry, with both TSMC and American companies operating on the island, as its \u201cvery own Trump card.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTaiwan is important geopolitically because it\u2019s a wealthy democracy, so close to Communist China, and seems very important, really, for our economy,\u201d he explained in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s critical on the world stage for its technological achievement or technological capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019re a critical player on the world stage when it comes to a very important technology, a very important product that fuels much of our modern era,\u201d Ullyot continued. \u201cNow, in the era of AI, we will be supportive of Taiwan generally, but we\u2019re even more supportive of them because they have that\u00a0critical technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A former senior White House official from Trump\u2019s second term was even more blunt in their assessment of the situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the Taiwanese posture right now is that is their biggest bargaining chip, for lack of a better word,\u201d that person told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cI think kind of all of their foreign diplomacy and their entire philosophy is built around chips. It is one of their key leverage points, so I\u2019d be amazed if they didn\u2019t bring it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">White House officials declined to comment for this story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Semiconductors, and TSMC in particular, factor into both Trump\u2019s push to boost domestic manufacturing and the national security focus his administration has placed on emergent technologies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just over a month after Trump was sworn in for his second term, TSMC announced a $100 billion expansion to its footprint in Arizona, with plans to break ground on fabrication plants, two additional packaging facilities, and a new American research and development center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump celebrated the foreign investment, hosting TSMC CEO C.C. Wei in the Oval Office on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/releases\/2025\/03\/another-historic-investment-secured-under-president-trump\/\">March 3, 2025<\/a>, where he claimed the projects would create \u201cmany thousands of jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In turn, Wei declared that TSMC\u2019s American presence would \u201csupport\u201d American growth of artificial intelligence, another pet issue of the president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Furthermore, in January of this year, Trump signed an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/01\/adjusting-imports-of-semiconductors-semiconductor-manufacturing-equipment-and-their-derivative-products-into-the-united-states\/\">executive order<\/a> outlining that rebuilding America\u2019s semiconductor manufacturing capacity was \u201ccritical\u201d for economic development, while relying on imported chips would \u201cthreaten to impair the national security\u201d of the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the fanfare from the Trump administration, Taiwan and TSMC could walk back their investment in America with very little injury to TSMC\u2019s bottom line. Earlier this year, TSMC publicly bucked <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/taiwan-says-40-shift-chip-capacity-us-is-impossible-2026-02-09\/\">calls<\/a> from the Trump administration to reshore some 40% of its production capacity to the U.S., and industry analysts believe TSMC\u2019s Arizona facilities, once fully operational, would only account for between 5% and 7% of the company\u2019s total output.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, TSMC CFO Wendell Huang said in January 2026 that the company doesn\u2019t plan on producing its \u201cmost leading-edge technologies\u201d in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4585474\/us-agrees-60-day-ceasefire-iran-trump-yet-give-final-approval\/\"><strong>US AGREES TO 60-DAY CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITH IRAN, BUT TRUMP HAS YET TO GIVE FINAL APPROVAL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, not even Trump\u2019s top aides can say whether or not Trump will move forward with the weapons sale, or if Taiwan\u2019s \u201cSilicon Shield\u201d will aid them in talks with the president.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Trump is the only one who knows which way he\u2019s headed in anything that\u2019s this important. That was the way in the first term, and here in the second term. No matter how close advisers are to the president, he makes the calls ultimately because he\u2019s been a leader in negotiations behind the scenes, and he\u2019s been one of the top dealmakers in the country for going on five decades,\u201d Ullyot told the\u00a0<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cHe\u2019s used to playing at this level. He does not need aides to tell him what to do, and only he knows what all the angles are on anything this big. This is the opposite of Joe Biden\u2019s administration, where aides did everything and he was not involved in big decisions like this. This is the opposite of Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trumpworld insiders believe Taiwan will likely move to leverage its semiconductor manufacturing empire, a so-called Silicon Shield, in talks with the White House as President Donald Trump mulls the latest sale of American weapons to the island. The United States has sold weapons to Taiwan for decades, but the Trump administration paused the latest transfer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2608147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25062810361636.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2608146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25062810361636.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2608146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2608147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2608146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2608146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2608146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}