AIT welcomes TSMC's additional US$100 billion U.S. investment pledge

Taipei, July 17 (CNA) American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene on Thursday welcomed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) plan to invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States, describing it as a sign of confidence in bilateral ties.

"This investment is a powerful signal of the trust and confidence that defines the U.S.-Taiwan partnership," Greene said in a post on the AIT's Facebook page.

The investment will allow TSMC to operate closer to its largest American customers, respond more quickly to growing global demand for advanced chips and contribute to more resilient supply chains, he said.

"Being closer to the customer matters," Greene said, adding that proximity to end users would enable TSMC to "move at market speed" as artificial intelligence and high-performance computing transform industries.

There are concerns that TSMC's overseas investment plans, notably in the U.S., could erode Taiwan's leading position in advanced semiconductors, thus depriving it of a "silicon shield" that makes foreign powers more likely to defend Taiwan if attacked by China.

U.S. President Donald Trump has fanned those concerns, saying recently that the U.S. will have 50 percent of the world's semiconductor manufacturing capacity by the time his term is up in 2028, though experts have said that is impossible.

Greene argued that Taiwan will remain the anchor of the semiconductor industry even as TSMC expands internationally, citing growth in Taiwan's semiconductor output from around NT$4.3 trillion (US$133.27 billion) in 2023 to a projected NT$8.4 trillion in 2026.

TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) announced the additional investment pledge at the chipmaker's second-quarter earnings conference Thursday. The new plan brings its total investment commitment in Arizona to US$265 billion.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said separately that the investment would add four advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities, bringing TSMC's planned U.S. presence to 12 leading-edge semiconductor and packaging facilities.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the latest investment would create tens of thousands of American jobs and help bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S.

Wei was cited in the Commerce Department statement as thanking the Trump administration, Lutnick and TSMC's leading American customers for their support.

At Thursday's earnings conference, Wei said the additional investment would fund logic wafer fabs using 2-nanometer and more advanced processes, as well as advanced packaging facilities, to meet strong multi-year demand from leading U.S. customers.

The expansion will also develop the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem, strengthen supply chains, and create jobs, he said.

Wei did not provide a firm timetable for the new investment pledge, saying progress would depend on market conditions and customer demand, although TSMC would seek to proceed "as fast as possible."

Prior to the new investment pledge, TSMC had committed to US$165 billion in investment to build six fabs, two packaging plants and one R&D center in Arizona.

Currently, the first fab is in mass production, and construction has been completed on the second fab, with mass production scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027.

The third fab is under construction and ground has been broken on the fourth fab. Work on the first advanced packaging plant is expected to begin in 2027.