President Trump announced Thursday that a major semiconductor device manufacturer is moving back to the U.S. — chalking it up to pro-business policies and the tax reform proposal that he said will restore America’s competitive edge.
The president touted Broadcom Limited’s decision to move its headquarters from Singapore to the U.S., bringing $20 billion in annual revenue and adding to the company’s 7,000 workers already in America, as part of a trend.
“Their move back to the United States is something very, very special and very important, and you have been seeing this happen with numerous companies,” he said.
For Mr. Trump, the announcement underscored the promise of the tax reform bill unveiled earlier in the day by House Republicans. The package includes reducing the corporate tax rate form 35 percent to 20 percent, as well as other measures to spur the economy.
The president also touted the middle-class tax relief in the GOP bill. He vowed to get the tax reform package approved in time to give “the American people a big tax cut for Christmas.”
“My administration is working every day to make the United States the most attractive place in the world to do business so that more and more companies such as Broadcom come back to our shores, grow their businesses and create more and more American jobs,” he said. “And you see it happening on a daily basis.”
Hock Tan, the company’s president and CEO, agreed.
“Thanks to you, Mr. President, business conditions have steadily improved. The proposed tax reform package will level the global playing field and allow us to compete effectively in worldwide markets,” he said.
Mr. Tan, who grew up in Malaysia and won a scholarship to study engineering at MIT that helped launch his business career, said his mother would never have dreamed he would be in the Oval Office with the president.
“And my mother too,” Mr. Trump chimed in, getting laughs.
Mr. Tan, a naturalized U.S. citizen, said his experience in achieving the American dream also inspired him to give back to the country.
“Today we are announcing that we are making America home again,” he said.
The return of Broadcom is a major coup for the Trump administration.
The company, a leader in worldwide communications semiconductors with $100 billion market capitalization, is moving its entire operation to the U.S. and locating its headquarters in Delaware.
Broadcom currently employs more than 7,000 American workers across 24 states. Seven workers from the firm’s plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania, attended the Oval Office event.
Mr. Trump credited the workers with helping revitalize the American brand.
“You’re skilled at your craft, you take pride in your job, and because of you, our nation’s trademark, ’Made in the USA,’ is respected all over the world once again,” said the president. “When I was growing up, when I was a young boy, you’d say, ’Made in the USA,’ and that meant something. Well, it means something again.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.