US chip grants thrown into doubt as Howard Lutnick seeks bigger investment bang for government bucks

Plan is to generate tens of billions of dollars in extra investment commitments

CC Wei, CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), left, and Howard Lutnick, US commerce secretary, during an investment announcement in Washington on March 3. Photo: Bloomberg

Mackenzie Hawkins and Ian King

US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick has signalled he could withhold promised Chips Act grants as he pushes companies in line for federal semiconductor subsidies to substantially expand their US projects, according to eight people familiar with the matter.

The commerce chief wants firms that won awards from the 2022 Chips and Science Act to follow in the footsteps of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which recently announced it will invest another $100bn in US plants on top of a previous $65bn pledge, the people said.