TSMC investing $100 billion in the US
Apple’s iPhone processor supplier TSMC is reportedly about to announce a further $100 billion investment in the United States.
Following Apple’s announcement of a $500 billion for US manufacturing — even if the money is less new investment than Apple suggests — TSMC is said to be committing its own billions to the country. It’s an expansion that comes on top of the chip maker’s existing investment in creating processor foundries in Arizona.
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump will announce the $100 billion investment before the end of March 3, 2025. The money is to be used on chip-making production, though it is not known yet whether that means creating new factories or expanding the Arizona foundries.
What is known is that the $100 billion is intended to be invested over the next four years. It follows TSMC’s initial $12 billion investment in Arizona in 2020, and also President Trump’s drive to increase processor production in the US.
President Trump previously decried the CHIPS act that saw TSMC supported with $6.6 billion by the Biden administration. Trump has instead declared that tariffs would prompt manufacturers to relocate to the States, and at times has suggested imposing at least a 25% tariff on semiconductor imports.
While TSMC is building out two Arizona chip factories, those facilities are not completing the work. It’s likely that
processors are currently still being sent to Taiwan or China for finishing, despite an Amkor finishing facility announcement in late 2023.
TSMC’s first Arizona plant has also been criticized for its unsafe construction methods, which have allegedly led to fatalities.
Apple’s main chip manufacturer is also accused of saying that US employees do not work hard enough. This is a cultural gap, most likely, as the Taiwan employees making the claim routinely put in 60+ hour weeks, by their own admissions.
