Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, on Monday took part in a virtual White House summit about a global semiconductor shortage and Washington’s plans to strengthen US supply chains.
The Hsinchu-based company was among 19 firms, including fellow chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co, GlobalFoundries Inc and Intel Corp, that attended the summit hosted by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, US National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
US President Joe Biden told executives in the meeting that there is bipartisan support in the US Congress for efforts to strengthen the US semiconductor industry to better protect the manufacturers that rely on it.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Earlier in the day, Biden said that he had received a letter from a bipartisan group of 23 US senators and 42 US representatives, urging passage of the Creating Helpful Incentives for Producing Semiconductors for America Act, a proposed US$50 billion investment in semiconductor manufacturing and research.
Biden said that companies that make and use semiconductors, as well as US consumers, would benefit from a US$2 trillion infrastructure plan that he has put before lawmakers.
“These chips, these wafers ... batteries, broadband — it’s all infrastructure. We need to build the infrastructure of today, not repair the one of yesterday,” Biden said, adding that his plan would “protect our supply chains and revitalize American manufacturing.”
Intel chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger said in an interview after the meeting that the White House and Congress are working aggressively to support the semiconductor industry with more domestic manufacturing, research and development, and efforts to build the workforce.
TSMC also voiced its support. The contract chipmaker, which plays a central role in manufacturing most of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, has secured US government incentives to begin building a US$12 billion advanced chip plant in Phoenix, Arizona, this year.
TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) issued a statement after the meeting that highlighted his company’s investments in the US, but did not directly address what was discussed.
TSMC’s planned US$12 billion investment constitutes one of the US’ largest overseas investment plans in the past few years, Liu said, adding that he was confident the project would succeed with continued bipartisan support from Washington.
Monday’s meeting took place amid a shortage of computer chips that has hampered the global economic recovery from COVID-19, and prompted Biden in February to order a comprehensive review of US supply chains.
US automakers General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co, both of which attended the meeting, have had to announce production cuts and temporary plant closures in the past few weeks amid difficulties sourcing automotive chips.
Many major auto manufacturers cut their chip orders last year due to plunging demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Because those openings in chipmakers’ production schedules were later filled by orders from other industries, the automakers are now struggling to keep up with rising consumer demand.
However, the White House said that the summit was not intended to provide immediate solutions, but rather to consult with stakeholders on how the issue could be better addressed going forward.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort