Amid growing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure on semiconductor tariffs, Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry, is expected to expand its investments in the U.S. TSMC held its first board meeting in the U.S. and discussed responses to local semiconductor production policies, while the Taiwanese government dispatched a delegation from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to expedite consultations with the U.S. government.
On the 12th, industry sources reported that TSMC held a board meeting in Arizona, its production base in the U.S., on the 10th and 11th (local time). The first Arizona plant established by TSMC in the U.S. has been ramping up semiconductor production since the first quarter of this year. Board members directly inspected the progress of mass production on site and discussed plans for new advanced process construction. The board consists of a total of 10 members, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) C.C. Wei, two internal directors, and seven independent directors, including Ursula Burns, who served as vice chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Supply Chain Competitiveness Advisory Committee, Rafael L. Brenner, former co-chair of the Applied Materials Technical Advisory Board, and Michael Splinter, former chief director of NASDAQ.
Earlier, local media, including Taiwan's United Daily News, anticipated that investment responses to President Trump's semiconductor policies would be core agenda items discussed at the board meeting. President Trump indicated last month since taking office that Taiwan has become a hindrance to the growth of the U.S. semiconductor industry, hinting at the possibility of imposing a 100% tariff on Taiwanese semiconductors. Industry observers speculate that board members would continue discussions on investing in new advanced 1.6 NANO process fabs. Currently, the Arizona plant is producing 4 micron chips, which are a generation behind the cutting-edge 3 micron processes being mass-produced in Taiwan. TSMC plans to begin mass production of 3 micron chips in its second Arizona plant starting in the second half of 2027 and establish a third plant by 2030.
It is anticipated that TSMC may negotiate with the U.S. government by promising to expedite the introduction of advanced processes at the Arizona plant and commit to additional plant investments. An industry source noted, "Even if TSMC's U.S. investment expansion plan is not finalized at this board meeting, it is highly likely to reach a final decision in the near future through ongoing consultations with the U.S. government." There are also predictions that additional advanced semiconductor packaging facilities will be established. Currently, wafers produced at TSMC's Arizona fab must go through a process of being sent to Taiwan for post-processing before returning to the U.S. As a result, there are views that TSMC will announce post-processing investment plans while expanding its production capacity in the U.S.
On the day the TSMC board meeting was held in Arizona, a delegation led by Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Wang Shou-jung, engaged in discussions with U.S. government officials regarding semiconductor tariff issues in Washington, D.C. Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs, Wang Mei-hua, stated at a press conference on the 10th, "The Taiwanese delegation will provide detailed explanations to the U.S. side," and emphasized that "semiconductor design companies that are TSMC's customers are reaping significantly higher revenues than manufacturers like TSMC, which bear substantial investment risks such as establishing factories." He also mentioned that regarding suspicions of theft of U.S. semiconductor technology, "We did not steal U.S. semiconductor technology and will clarify that we paid knowledge property (IP) expenses."
Amid threats from President Trump regarding tariffs on foreign semiconductors, some in the industry have pointed out that this reflects "irrational policies stemming from a lack of understanding of the semiconductor industry." Most TSMC chips targeted by the Trump administration are integrated into iPhones or servers from factories in China and India before being exported to the U.S. Typically, U.S. tariffs apply to finished goods rather than individual semiconductor parts, making it practically difficult to impose tariffs on each semiconductor produced upon customer orders. Consequently, should semiconductor tariffs be implemented, there are opinions suggesting that major U.S. semiconductor clients such as Apple and NVIDIA would actively oppose the Trump administration's tariff policies.