On March 3, President Donald Trump made an announcement of significant economic and national security importance: “The most powerful AI chips in the world will be made right here in America.”
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, known as TSMC, the globe’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, has agreed to spend at least $100 billion dollars in new capital in the United States. The money will go to building five cutting-edge fabrication facilities in the state of Arizona.
At a press briefing with the CEO of TSMC C.C. Wei, President Trump said, “This will create hundreds of billion of dollars in economic activity, and boost America’s dominance in artificial intelligence and beyond.”
“Semiconductors are the backbone of the 21st century economy – and really, without the semiconductors, there is no economy – powering everything from AI to automobiles to advanced manufacturing. And we must be able to build the chips and semiconductors that we need right here, in American factories, with American skill and American labor ... It’s a matter of economic security. It’s also a matter of national security for us.”
President Trump noted that up to now, Taiwan has had a monopoly on microchip production, but with the new investment by Taiwan Semiconductor, U.S. manufacturing of microchips will grow to close to 40 percent of the global market. In an acknowledgement of the ongoing threats to Taiwan by China, Mr. Trump added that the investment is also good for TSMC:
“Mr. Wei will be able to diversify and have his tremendous presence in another place and a very safe place.”
President Trump also pointed out that another benefit for TSMC, like other companies manufacturing their products in the United States, all tariffs will be avoided.
“This is exactly what Mr. Wei is doing by building here. ... If they did them in Taiwan to send them here, they’ll have 25 percent or 30 percent or 50 percent or whatever the number may be someday. It’ll go only up. But by doing it here, he has no tariffs, so he’s way ahead of the game.”
President Trump has made it a top priority to bring - and bring back - industries, companies, and the jobs they support to the United States. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the latest - and one of the most significant - companies which has chosen to do so.
