A bill intended to increase US semiconductor manufacturing has raised worries about the subsidy criteria, according to Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, who stated on Monday that it is in communication with Washington regarding its “guidance.”

Surplus profit sharing with the US government is one of the requirements for subsidies, and according to industry insiders, the application procedure itself can reveal private corporate strategies.

“We can confirm that we are communicating with the U.S. government about the CHIPS ACT guidance,” TSMC, the world’s leading contract chipmaker, said in a short emailed statement.

Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, also stated last month that firms including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc. are concerned about the criteria.

According to Taiwan’s Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua, TSMC was particularly discussing the specifics of the subsidy with the United States on Monday.

“The Taiwan government and industry have a very close understanding (of what is going on) and hope that the details of the relevant subsidy legislation will not affect industrial cooperation between the two sides and costs for industry-related construction,” she said.

In support of Washington’s efforts to increase domestic chip production, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) is investing $40 billion in a new facility in the western U.S. state of Arizona.

The planned subsidies for the facility are not yet known in full.

The CHIPS Act’s $52 billion research and manufacturing money pool would be used to pay for the subsidies.

The US Department of Commerce stated last month that it will safeguard private business information and anticipates that it will only be necessary to share surplus profit when projects materially surpass anticipated cash flow.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)