Contrary to prevalent speculation, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has issued a statement dismissing rumors that NVIDIA CEO, Jensen Huang’s recent trip to Taiwan was to negotiate a so-called profit sharing arrangement at the behest of former US President Trump. News concerning the Trump administration gained significant traction recently when permission was granted for NVIDIA’s China H20 AI GPU licenses, although this was on the precondition of a 15% sales return to the American government. Huang, whose unexpected arrival in Taiwan fueled speculation, clarified to the media that the primary purpose of his visit was to address the workforce at TSMC during a day dedicated to present a tribute to the organization’s founder, Dr. Morris Chang.
Huang, after reaching Taiwan, held a press conference where he praised TSMC, romanticizing it as one of the most exceptional corporations in the world. During this session, Huang also opened up about his interactions with Trump. On being pressed about the stipulated 15% share of NVIDIA H20 AI GPU profits with the American administration, Huang’s response was one of gratitude, pointing out his appreciation for the approval of licenses for their customers based in China by the Trump administration.
The NVIDIA chief also voiced his astonishment over the circulating reports that NVIDIA’s H20 GPUs were allegedly being prohibited for sale by the Chinese government. Huang stressed that such claims were contrary to his interactions with Chinese officials who, he asserted, had personally appealed to him to secure the required licenses for these products.
Recently, a fairly unknown Taiwanese paper suggested that the ulterior motive behind Huang’s visit to Taiwan was to negotiate a projected profit-sharing plan linked to TSMC’s chips, allegedly proposed by Trump, thus further adding to the already circulating rumors. In response to this, TSMC dismissed these allegations by asserting that no such discussion took place.
The semiconductor giant reaffirmed that it maintains a solid, transparent communication framework with the US government. Furthermore, TSMC reiterated that Huang’s visit was primarily intended for internal discourse within the organization.
Although TSMC refuted the rumors concerning Huang’s visit about a supposed profit-sharing agreement involving the corporation and the US government, it refrained from making any comments regarding the conjectures from an analyst report. This report had also questioned the true intentions behind Huang’s visit.
The analyst’s assumption revolved around several points of discussion that he believed could have taken place between Huang and TSMC CEO Dr. C.C. Wei. The speculation included talks of global manufacturing capacity distribution, devising strategy to reduce the import duty on NVIDIA’s products, and setting a transfer price for TSMC’s chips.
Transfer pricing is a common financial strategy deployed by multinational corporations to minimize their tax liabilities. It essentially comprises a price system, established for the exchanging of products within a corporation or among its subsidiaries, aimed at shifting profits to areas of low tax jurisdiction. Importantly, this practice is perfectly legal and is often used as a business stratagem to reduce overall operational costs.
However, it bears mentioning that TSMC, as well as Huang, have dismissed these rumored agendas, stating the main purpose of the meeting was a tribute to Dr. Morris Chang and an internal address. All assertions outside the confirmed objectives remain purely speculative.
The reinterpretation of Huang’s visit further demonstrates that with high-profile companies, especially those involved in competitive and sensitive technology sectors, their actions and intent are likely to attract scrutiny and speculation. In this case, while the speculation added an element of intrigue to the narrative, it also created confusion and perhaps misinterpretation to the public perspective.
Significantly, the response from TSMC stands as a formal clarification that its relationship with the US government is based on open and steady communication. This statement sends a clear message to the stakeholders about the importance of fact-based journalism and the potential negative impacts of unfounded speculation.
This episode reinforces the value of transparency and accuracy when dealing with communications for corporations, particularly for those operating in industries sensitive to political and regulative shifts, like tech and semiconductor manufacturing. Speculative reports should ideally be confirmed or refuted with primary sources, to ensure that stakeholders are given accurate information.
The incidence of strange corporate narratives, fueled by speculation, appearing in the media serves to highlight the complex texture of the global corporate landscape. The case in focus here reveals as much about the power dynamics at play between companies, governments, and media, as it does about the economic intricacies of a modern, multinational corporation dealing with geopolitical challenges.
The post TSMC Refutes NVIDIA CEO’s Rumored Profit-Sharing Negotiation with Taiwan appeared first on Real News Now.
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