Trump’s bid to shield chip supply chain could backfire in Tennessee

A Tennessee factory that Washington had hoped to protect as part of a push to safeguard the U.S. semiconductor supply chain is at risk of closure after the Trump administration’s new trade measures drove away its two remaining customers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Germany’s Wacker Chemie, which produces polysilicon that goes into chips and solar panels, will make a decision in the coming weeks on whether to close its Charleston, Tennessee, facility, which employs about 600 workers, the sources said.

Reuters was not able to confirm the names of the two customers.