Trump's Security Advisor Also Pressures Taiwan Defense Budget... TSMC in Crisis

Trump's First-Term Key Security Adviser O'Brien
"Taiwan Must Take Initiative for Freedom and Independence"
TSMC Stock Falls 8%

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pressured Taiwan to increase its defense cost-sharing, and his close aide also emphasized the need for Taiwan to boost its defense budget.

Robert O'Brien, former White House National Security Advisor and a key foreign and security aide during Trump's first term, said in an interview with Bloomberg on the 17th (local time) that he has two daughters serving in the U.S. military and stated, "If the Taiwanese people do not defend Taiwan, I cannot stand by and send my daughters to Taiwan." He added, "Just as we desire, the Taiwanese people also want freedom and independence," emphasizing, "I want to see the will of the Taiwanese people. They must step up themselves."

Former White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien [Photo by X]

O'Brien's remarks align with former President Trump's foreign policy stance. Trump has consistently pressured allies to increase their defense spending to 3% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In an interview with Bloomberg the day before, he said, "Taiwan must pay us for defense," and criticized, "The United States is no different from an insurance company. Taiwan gives us nothing." On the same day, O'Brien urged Taiwan to spend at least as much on defense as China's GDP percentage, saying, "(Taiwan) is facing a monster across the sea." China's defense spending as a percentage of GDP is known to be about 1.9%.

Such remarks from prominent potential White House figures targeting Taiwan also affected the stock market. On that day, the stock price of Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer), plummeted 7.98% compared to the previous session on the New York Stock Exchange. It also fell 2.37% on the Taiwan stock market. In the previous day's interview, former President Trump criticized, "Taiwan has taken all of our semiconductor business," and said, "We are giving Taiwan billions of dollars to build new semiconductor factories in the U.S., but later they will take them back to their own country." He was raising issues with subsidies paid to overseas companies, including Taiwan, under the Biden administration's CHIPS and Science Act (CSA).

In response to Trump's tough remarks, the Taiwanese government showed a receptive stance. According to local media such as Liberty Times, Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang said at a press conference that day, "The peace and security of the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are a shared responsibility and goal of Taiwan and the United States," adding, "We are willing to bear more responsibility to defend ourselves and ensure security."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced on the same day plans to provide up to $400 million (approximately 550 billion KRW) in government subsidies to GlobalWafers, a Taiwanese wafer material manufacturer. The subsidies will be used to build new wafer manufacturing facilities worth $4 billion in Texas and Missouri. Authorities expect this to create about 2,600 jobs.