US President Donald Trump yesterday said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) is one of the "most respected" people in the business world and is fully aware that his company should make large investments in the US to avoid tariffs.
The US' current tariff policies would allow the US public to see "immediate" benefits, and TSMC has pledged to invest billions in the US to avoid tariffs on its products, Trump said in an interview with conservative TV host Sharyl Attkisson on her program Full Measure.
"So you have the biggest chipmaker in the world coming in with US$200 billion," Trump said. "Mr Wei, one of the most respected people in business ... he's coming in, he's spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and he'll be spending it largely in Arizona."
Photo: Bloomberg
Trump said his tariffs threats have prompted many companies to bring large amounts of money into the US to build plants, which would need contractors, subcontractors, concrete and steel suppliers, and would provide more benefits down the road as job openings increase.
The investment figure cited by Trump in the interview was at odds with the amount announced earlier for the expected new investment in the US by TSMC.
On March 3, during a visit to the White House by Wei, Trump said that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US.
Wei has said that the US$100 billion would be spent to build three new wafer fabs, two advanced IC packaging plants, and a research and development center in the state of Arizona.
TSMC has already invested US$65 billion in three wafer fabs in Arizona, and the additional US$100 billion that was announced would push up the company's total investments in the US to US$165 billion.
The 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 US in the next decade, TSMC said.
The announcement of higher TSMC investments came amid threats by Trump to impose tariffs on semiconductors, which was seen as likely to include those from Taiwan.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS