US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan’s TSMC of stealing the US’s chip business, claiming that almost all leading-edge chips are produced in Taiwan. He made this statement two weeks after announcing plans to impose tariffs on foreign-made processors as high as 100%. The tariffs aim to push the tech industry to migrate chip manufacturing to the US.
TSMC has yet to comment on Trump’s tariff plans, but it has approved an additional $17 billion in funding for its chip production, including some in the US. The company’s first fab in Arizona is complete and started chip production using TSMC’s 4-nanometer process. However, much of its chip manufacturing still happens in Taiwan.
Trump believes that companies will migrate to the US after signing an executive order calling for “reciprocal tariffs” on foreign countries. He claims that long-term, this move will make the US a fortune by flooding the country with jobs and eliminating tariffs on domestic production. However, some major suppliers of electronics, such as Foxconn and motherboard maker ASRock, are exploring or planning to move their production to other countries to avoid Trump’s tariffs.
The previous administration tackled chip disparity via legislation in 2022, allocating $280 billion for high-tech research, development, and manufacturing in the US.
Source: https://uk.pcmag.com/computers-electronics/156695/trump-intel-was-great-until-taiwan-took-our-chip-business-away