- President Trump set to meet with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan
- The President recently called for the CEO’s immediate resignation
- Trump accused Tan of major “conflicts of interest” because of his investments in Chinese companies
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is set to meet with President Trump to discuss the former’s professional and personal history, and explore ways in which the US government and Intel can work together, sources have told the Wall Street Journal.
Tan has recently faced a series of attacks from President Trump, who has demanded his resignation over alleged investments and dealing with Chinese businesses.
Trump has accused Tan of being “highly conflicted” and demanded his “immediate resignation,” stating that there is “no other solution to this problem.”
Rocky history
Intel has been steadily trimming its global workforce in recent months, leading to a 20% reduction in headcount that has seen thousands of employees lose their jobs in US factories
Tan has also recently butted heads with Intel board members over the direction of Intel’s investments in the US.
For example, the new CEO has reduced the pace of construction of a new factory in Ohio in order to meet perceived customer demands, causing issues with Republican Ohio senator Bernie Moreno.
Both the job cuts and slowed construction directly contradict President Trump’s desire to increase domestic investment from companies that have typically manufactured goods outside of the US.
What’s more, Tan’s previous position as CEO of Cadence Design Systems appears to have ruffled a few feathers in the Trump administration due to the company recently handing over $140 million in penalties after pleading guilty to unlawfully exporting chip design tools to restricted Chinese military organizations.
Tan himself also holds numerous investments in Chinese businesses, including buying $200 million worth of stakes in Chinese manufacturing and chip companies between 2012 and 2024 according to a Reuters report.
However, Tan has not only been on the board of numerous enterprises involved in chip manufacturing, but founded a venture capital firm named Walden International that focused heavily on tech startups in the Asian market.
Tan’s holdings in Chinese companies could therefore simply be a smart investment based on decades of experience, rather than the shady under-the-table dealings Trump has alleged in his Red Scare tirades on Truth Social.
Trump appears to be deaf to his own accusations of Tan’s “conflicts of interest,” with the President frequently using his position to market his own goods from the Trump Store, as well as launching the $TRUMP cryptocurrency of which the President controls 80% of the coin’s supply.
In a recent letter to employees, Tan said the US had been his home for more than 40 years, and the company was communicating with the White House to make sure the President has “the facts.”
Trump has recently levied significant tariffs on countries that he perceives to have an unfair trade balance, causing the price of some goods to increase as the cost of imports are passed on to the consumer – a fact that many within the Trump administration and his MAGA base are struggling to come to terms with.
Trump’s pursuit of an America First policy has drawn significant investment from many major companies, including Nvidia, Intel, and Apple, to build factories in the US to produce goods domestically. However there is a reason that these companies have historically manufactured their goods outside of the US. It’s cheaper.
Recent studies into the costs of a US manufactured iPhone for example have theorized that the price tag could rise by between 25-100%.
In an added contradiction, Trump’s own branded handsets from Trump Mobile likely won’t be manufactured in the US, with Eric Trump claiming that “Eventually, all the phones can be built in the United States of America.”
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benedict.collins@futurenet.com (Benedict Collins)
