Trump calls on “very conflicted” Intel CEOs to step down Chinese ties
US President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the immediate resignation of New Intel CEO Rip Butane, calling him “very conflicted” due to his relationship with Chinese companies.
President Donald Trump announced on August 22 that he had acquired a 10% stake in Intel, a US chipmaker company that the US government is struggling with.
“It is my great honor to report that the United States now owns and controls 10% of Intel, the great American company that has an even more incredible future,” Trump wrote in the Truth Social Post. “I negotiated this deal with Lip-Bu Tan, the company’s highly respected CEO.”
At various points during the day, Trump said U.S. stocks would be valued at $10 and $11 billion without providing details.
“The US has paid nothing for these shares and the shares are currently valued at around $11 billion,” he writes. “This is a lot for America, and a lot for Intel too.”
Previously at an oval office meeting, he told reporters that the stock was worth $10 billion.
According to Reuters, Intel is expected to receive CHIPS Act grants from the government to fund the construction of a US chip plant.
Just two weeks ago, Trump called for the resignation of Intel CEO, citing alleged ties with China, and accused him of “very contradictory” in a true social post. But then after meeting Tan on August 11th, Trump said, “I loved him so much.”
“I told him, I think the US should give 10% of Intel,” Trump said. “I thought it would be a good thing to have America as your partner. He agreed.”
Intel’s investment will be the latest in some extraordinary deals with US companies, including the US government agreeing to allow AI chip giant Nvidia to sell H20 chips to China in exchange for the US government, which receives 15% of these sales.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the deal a “historical agreement.”
“(It) strengthens US leadership in semiconductors. This will help grow the economy and ensure the advantage of American technology,” he writes in X.
The Department of Defense is also set to become the largest shareholder of a small mining company, increasing the production of rare earth magnets, and the US government negotiated certain veto and “golden sharing” as part of a deal that would allow Nippon Steel to purchase our steel.
The wide range of US government interventions in corporate issues worry critics who say Trump’s actions will create a new category of corporate risk.
Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of Virginna, co-author of the Chip and Science Act, said, given the administration’s recent approach to other well-known technology transactions, Congress must “apply a thorough scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest or excessive interference in private sector decisions that have no relation to national security.”
“Getting stocks with Intel might be the right approach, but one thing is clear: Having cutting-edge chips flow to China without restrictions will erode the value of investments made at home here,” he said.
Contribution: Reuters
