TSMC's expanded U.S. plan expected to make Taiwan stronger: Premier

Taipei, March 4 (CNA) The new investment in the United States pledged by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will help Taiwan's industrial sector extend its global reach and make the country stronger, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Tuesday.

Cho said the government viewed TSMC's expanded U.S. investment positively because it will boost Taiwan's competitive edge in the global market, and "making Taiwan stronger is the common stance of the government and industry."

The government has encouraged domestic industries to expand worldwide and will provide any necessary assistance for expansion, he said.

"I hope TSMC's investments will continue to create mutual benefits and a win-win situation with Taiwan's allies," Cho said, who still insisted that while investing overseas, "Taiwan is determined to maintain the lead over its peers in critical technologies."

Cho was responding to the joint announcement by TSMC and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (U.S. time) that the chipmaker will invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the U.S.

"Today Taiwan Semiconductor is announcing that they will be investing at least US$100 billion in new capital in the United States over the next short period of time to build state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing facilities," Trump said during a White House appearance alongside TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家).

Wei said the US$100 billion investment will fund the construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging plants and a research and development center.

TSMC is already investing US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs.

The first fab in Arizona has started production using the 4-nanometer process, while the second fab, which will be using the more sophisticated 3 nm, 2 nm and A16 processes, is currently under construction and is expected to begin production in 2028.

The third, of which TSMC has said little to date, is expected to begin production by 2030 using 2 nm or more advanced processes, TSMC said in April 2024.

In a statement issued Tuesday, TSMC said the new expansion plan will "play a crucial role in strengthening the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem by increasing American production of advanced semiconductor technology."

The chipmaker said its expanded investment is expected to support 40,000 construction jobs over the next four years and drive more than US$200 billion of indirect economic output in Arizona and across the U.S. in the next decade, TSMC said.

According to the company, the U.S. investment plan will not affect its expansion plans in other places such as Taiwan and Japan, nor will it affect the company's stable cash dividend policy.

The announcement comes as Taiwan has been faced with threats by Trump to impose tariffs on semiconductors. Trump said that by TSMC bringing an extra US$100 billion in investment to the U.S., it could "avoid paying tariffs."

This is not the first time a Taiwanese company has pledged a major investment with Trump. In 2017, Foxconn pledged a US$10 billion investment in Wisconsin to build an LCD manufacturing facility that would create 13,000 jobs.

Only a fraction of that investment and job creation ever materialized, but in 2024, Microsoft pledged to build a new AI data center at the mostly abandoned site.

When asked whether TSMC's investment would minimize the impact on the U.S. if China were to isolate or take Taiwan, Trump said it would give the U.S. a "very big part" of the business in the United States.

"So it would have a big impact if something should happen with Taiwan," he said.

Meanwhile, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. said the U.S. has accounted for more than 40 percent of Taiwan's total overseas investment in recent years, and the government is delighted to see more Taiwanese enterprises, like TSMC, continue to invest in the U.S. to reinforce bilateral economic and trade ties.

According to Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝), the U.S. has become the top destination of Taiwanese investors, as Taiwanese companies seek to extend their global reach.

In 2024 alone, the U.S. accounted for 30 percent of Taiwan's total overseas investment, with China representing only 7.5 percent, Lee said.