TSMC's Arizona facility opening will be a pivotal moment in the US's "chip history," but the inauguration is now delayed to January as the Taiwan giant preps for the "Trump Era."
TSMC's Arizona Facility Opening Now Under Political Influence; Chipmaker Prepares Itself For Donald Trump & New Policymakers
It looks like TSMC's US ambitions are now influenced by the political situation in the country, where the current administration is set to be replaced by Donald Trump and his respective choice of cabinet. According to a report by Digitimes, TSMC has informed guests that the opening of the Arizona facility is now postponed to January, originally from December, in order to match it right with the upcoming Presidential inauguration and probably give a "warm welcome" to the Trump administration for future aspirations.
For those unaware, TSMC's Arizona fab is a by-product of the CHIPS Act brought in by the Biden administration in an attempt to bolster local semiconductor production. Up until now, there have been multiple opinions on whether the initiative was a success, but it surely did manage to catch the attention of TSMC, which is, without a doubt, the biggest semiconductor supplier in the world. TSMC's US expansion was an initiative to move away from geopolitical conflicts between China and the US; it was probably one step towards achieving "self-subsistent" chip production.
TSMC is said to be under pressure under Trump's administration, given that Donald Trump publicly claimed that Taiwanese partners should pay up for setting facilities in the US. It is highly probable that we might see an imposition of an "exclusive tax" on TSMC under Trump, but these are all just rumors for now. However, it's well-known that the Taiwan giant will be much more confined under Trump, likely coming under more regulations.
For the US, well, the country realizes that it cannot depend on homegrown firms like Intel to meet chip ambitions. Given that despite being the biggest financial recipient, Team Blue hasn't managed to deliver down on expectations. So, the only route to go here is TSMC, and given that Trump realizes this, the markets might not see the change in administration as bearish for TSMC and its future ambitions.
However, hostilities are present between the US and Taiwan on how both nations want to proceed with semiconductor collaboration, given that in recent remarks, Taiwan's government stated that they won't allow cutting-edge nodes, like the 2nm, to be developed in foreign lands. This sudden change in stance shows that TSMC needs to be much more careful with the new administration moving forwards.
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