Taiwan Wouldn’t Agree to 50-50 Chip Production Split With US: Negotiator Says

Taiwan’s world-leading chip industry is considered vital for self-defense and garnering international backing in the event of a potential Chinese invasion.

An artificial intelligence server assembly station is displayed at the Century Trading Corp. booth during the SEMICON Taiwan exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, on Sept. 10, 2025. I-Hwa Cheng / AFP via Getty Images

A top Taiwanese trade negotiator has signaled that the government plans to keep much of its semiconductor production on the island, after U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick floated the idea of a 50-50 split of chip manufacturing with Washington.

Upon arriving in Taiwan in the early hours of Oct. 1, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun told reporters that the latest round of trade negotiations with U.S. officials centered on tariffs and did not touch on Lutnick’s proposal about splitting chip production with the United States.