Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in discussions with the White House over potential US tariffs on semiconductors, seeking a solution that benefits both sides, a senior company executive said on Friday.
Speaking at a forum hosted by the US think tank Hudson Institute in Washington, TSMC senior vice president Peter Cleveland said that the company was maintaining close communication with US President Donald Trump’s administration and is optimistic that talks were moving in a “positive direction.”
Talks were ongoing, particularly concerning Taiwan’s extensive semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem and its exports to the US, he said.
Photo: I-hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
“And they’re listening,” he added.
However, TSMC was still uncertain about what will happen on Wednesday, when Trump is expected to introduce a slew of new tariffs.
To avoid the tariffs and appease Trump, who is eager to shift manufacturing to the US, TSMC has already made substantial investments in the country. The company on March 3 committed an additional US$100 billion to build three wafer fabrication plants, two advanced integrated circuit packaging facilities, and a research and development center, bringing its total investments in Arizona to US$165 billion.
At the forum, titled “Building a Sustainable and Successful Semiconductor Ecosystem under the Trump Administration,” other industry leaders also weighed in on the potential effect of the proposed tariffs.
Jonathan Hoganson, head of US government affairs at semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV, said that industry players hope the new policy will strengthen the ecosystem rather than create barriers.
Patrick Wilson, vice president of government relations at Hsinchu City-based smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科), underscored the importance of fostering a favorable business environment.
“We just want to have the right tariff or regulatory environment that makes it possible for our customers to win,” he said.
TSMC is seeking to start construction of its third advanced wafer fab in Arizona soon, Cleveland said.
“We have not started to break ground on our third wafer fab in Phoenix. We would like to start next week,” he said.
To begin construction, the company needs assistance from the US government, such as an environmental permit, he said.
While Taiwan remains the “home” of the contract chipmaker, the US was an “ideal location” for TSMC to extend its global footprint, Cleveland said.
TSMC aims to roll out high-end chips from plants in Arizona, and “we’re going to build those in Phoenix to sustain the US’ AI [artificial intelligence] leadership,” he said.
The first fab in Arizona has started production using the 4-nanometer process, while the second fab, which would use the 3-nanometer, 2-nanometer and A16 processes, is 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 the 2-nanometer or more advanced processes, the company said in April last year.
However, production in the US has not been easy, Cleveland said.
“The United States is a different marketplace. Labor costs are high,” he said.
Nevertheless, he highlighted TSMC’s “excellent” partnership with Washington, saying the company had a “good dialogue” with the US Department of Commerce about structural issues.
“We are optimistic about our collaboration and partnership going forward with the Trump administration as well as Capitol Hill,” he said.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS