TSMC will continue to invest in projects in the United States, but will leave advanced technologies in Taiwan

Market participants are still fresh in their minds with Donald Trump’s statements about the need to charge Taiwan for protecting the island and accusations about the “hijacking of the American semiconductor industry.” This does not prevent TSMC representatives from declaring their readiness to continue developing their business in the United States.

Image Source: TSMC

«Our investment plan in the US remains unchanged,” TSMC said in a written statement to Reuters. TSMC, under President Biden, announced its intentions to spend $65 billion on the construction of three chip production plants in Arizona, but with the condition that these projects will be heavily subsidized by the US government. It is believed that TSMC can count on a non-repayable grant of $6.6 billion and $5 billion in soft loans. This week, Taiwan’s Economic Minister J.W. Kuo reminded the public that local laws prevent TSMC from moving its cutting-edge technology off-island. For this reason, in particular, the company’s American operations will be a step or two behind the advanced Taiwanese ones.

At the same time, TSMC Senior Vice President Cliff Hou, at an event in Taiwan, stated the need to accelerate research and development that would allow the company to “remain an indispensable link in the global supply chain.” The chipmaker is also working with the Taiwanese government to attract foreign partners to establish research centers on the island that would focus on innovation in materials science as it relates to the needs of the semiconductor industry. Taiwanese companies, according to a TSMC representative, need to develop their own competencies in the field of materials science and equipment used in the production of chips. These areas are currently dominated by foreign manufacturers.

According to the senior vice president of TSMC, the outcome of the US presidential election should not affect relations with Taiwan, since they have been formed over several decades and have gained sufficient strength. According to him, so far the Taiwanese chip industry has not received any notification from the United States regarding the likely increase in tariffs on their supplies to this country. The topic arose against the background of Trump’s early statements about the need to use customs duties as the main tool to stimulate the development of local production, rather than subsidies for foreign companies.