Trump Announces $1.5B North Carolina Chip Plan

President Donald Trump announced a $1.5 billion Defense Department conditional loan commitment to Wolfspeed, based in Durham, North Carolina. The loan supports U.S. production of silicon carbide materials and advanced power devices, including for national security uses. Trump called the investment "This is a very, very big one." At a rally alongside Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Belgian industrial minerals producer Sibelco plans to build a North Carolina manufacturing facility that will produce quartz used in semiconductor manufacturing. Lutnick described the Sibelco investment as worth "hundreds of millions of dollars" and called quartz "the foundation" of the industry. Trump welcomed the announcement. The announcements were presented as part of the administration’s effort to expand domestic semiconductor supply chains and manufacturing.