16 March 2025

The Case for a Taiwan-US Semiconductor Agreement

Ching-Fu Lin and Han-Wei Liu

On March 3, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced, together with U.S. President Donald Trump, its decision to invest massively in the United States. Per TSMC CEO C.C. Wei, this investment will direct $100 billion to the construction of three new fabrication facilities featuring the company’s most advanced process nodes, two advanced packaging plants, and a research and development center in Arizona. The construction process will take place over the coming years, reportedly to counter potential tariffs, ranging from 25 to 100 percent, that the Trump administration might impose on Taiwan. The investment plan will bring TSMC’s critical semiconductor production closer to the company’s U.S. clients.

Commenting on the agreement, Trump declared, “We must be able to build the chips and semiconductors that we need right here. It’s a matter of national security for us.”

This Taiwan-U.S. investment plan aligns with the broader U.S. industrial policy objectives of reshoring vital supply chains and reducing dependency on semiconductor chokepoint economies in Asia. These objectives are especially relevant to Taiwan, given its dominant position in the semiconductor field and escalating tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

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