While pressing the semiconductor industry with a 100% tariff threat…
President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the immediate resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, citing what he described as “highly conflicted” financial entanglements with Chinese firms — including several allegedly linked to the Chinese military.
Tan reportedly holds over $200 million in investments tied to Chinese semiconductor and electronics companies, posing a potential national security risk — especially as Intel stands to receive up to $8 billion in taxpayer funds through the CHIPS Act.
The criticism centers on Intel’s role in the Secure Enclave initiative, a U.S. government-backed program to produce microelectronics for defense and other high-security applications. The initiative builds on existing Pentagon partnerships, including the Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes – Commercial (RAMP-C) and State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integration Prototype (SHIP) efforts.
These programs are designed to ensure that key semiconductor components are made in America and handled under strict security protocols.
Tan’s prior role as executive chairman at Cadence Design Systems is also under renewed scrutiny, following reports that federal subpoenas have been issued related to the company’s past China dealings. Trump pointed to those legal developments as further evidence that “there is no other solution to this problem” than for Tan to step down.
NBC News continues:
Trump’s attack on the Intel chief is his latest attempt to pressure the semiconductor industry, which has fueled the boom in artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, he said he would hit imported computer chips with a 100% tariff unless companies are making them, or plan to make them, in the United States.
The demand also comes after Sen. Tom Cotton wrote to Intel Chairman Frank Yeary to “express concerns about the security and integrity of Intel’s operations and its potential impact on U.S. national security.”
Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, claims in the letter that Intel’s recently named CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, “reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms. At least eight of these companies reportedly have ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.”
Cotton asked Intel whether it had asked Tan to “divest from his positions in semiconductor firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party or the People’s Liberation Army and any other concerning entities in China that could pose a conflict of interest?”
If enacted, Donald Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on imported semiconductors would mark a dramatic escalation in U.S. efforts to rebuild domestic chip production.
Crucially, exemptions will be granted to companies that are already building or have committed to building semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the U.S.
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