Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed confidence Sunday that the Trump administration will cut trade deals with key U.S. trading partners in the coming weeks — before steep tariffs kick in for dozens of countries.

Lutnick just laughed it off, indignantly pointing out that “we were just giving away the money” under the previous terms of the CHIPS Act. But the legality of any equity stake would likely be challenged by both Intel shareholders and competitors in the industry, according to the Times.

The U.S. commerce secretary said the funds promised by Tokyo in the course of tariff talks will be deployed to benefit the United States.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel as well as other chip companies in exchange for grants under the CHIPS Act that was meant to spur factory-building around the country,

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he’d support consolidation as a means to make the US freight rail industry more efficient, a potential boost for Union Pacific Corp.’s $72 billion takeover of Norfolk Southern Corp.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says Trump wants a 'good return' for American taxpayers. Subsidies under the CHIPS Act are 'just a giveaway to rich companies,' he argues.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that documents memorializing trade agreements with Japan and South Korea -- a sensitive topic in Tokyo -- are "weeks away" from being ready.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is weighing whether the federal government should take equity stakes in semiconductor companies receiving CHIPS Act funding to build factories in the United States, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration plans to convert federal funding pledged to Intel Corp. INTC under the CHIPS Act into an equity stake, arguing that taxpayers deserve a return instead of providing “giveaways to rich companies.

“We’d like an American to be doing that, so Donald Trump says, ‘Hey, look. Let’s turn the money that Biden was just going to give away, and turn that to equity for the American people,’” Lutnick said, confirming the talks.