Taiwanese president defends TSMC’s investment in US chip in the amount of $ 100 billion

Lai Ching-Tavan’s president from Taiwan on Thursday tried to convince his citizens that the plan of Taiwanese chip giant for Spend $ 100 billion in the United States He would use the island after the pledge of the company caused concern at home this week.

The Taiwanese company production company, the world’s largest chip producer, announced on Monday that she would expand her business in Arizona over the next four years to make artificial intelligence chips and other high -tech apps. President Trump pressed Taiwan to exhaust his dominance in advanced semiconductors and to move production to the United States, and he warned of strong tariffs if his demands were not fulfilled.

But the announcement of TSMC also aroused the discussion and misconceptions in Taiwan, a democratically operated island where many people see the chip sector as a vital economic pillar and a shield against possible aggression by China, which claims that it is part of its territory. The TSMC obligation would increase its planned consumption in the United States to $ 165 billion, which has more than doubled its previous obligations.

Mr. Lai, at a press conference in Taipei on Thursday with CC Wei, Executive Director of TSMC, claimed that the plan was good for TSMC, Taiwan and the United States.

“We have seen each time that with each TSMC initiative it has become even stronger and more competitive, while providing Tradan companies with opportunities for international cooperation and contributing to the greater strength of Taiwan,” Mr. Lai told reporters in the presidential office. He said Taiwan could now “confidently cross the Pacific Ocean and spread to the east to the US continent.”

Mr. Wei claimed that the decision of the TSMC was based on business considerations – which implies that the company has not bent at political pressure. “We did a lot of analysis and I communicated with all our customers,” he said. “It turns out that the current expansion plan of the TSMC united states is not enough to meet their request.”

The production of a company in Taiwan would not be injured by growing investments in the United States, Mr. Wei said.

Not everyone is convinced in Taiwan. “When TSMC invested so much capital and takes its most advanced production processes to the United States, which Taiwan acquired in return?” Wang Hung-Weisaid the legislator from the Taiwanese opposition nationalist party at a press conference this week.

TSMC executives have previously insisted To keep the company its most advanced factories in Taiwan. The company has invested billions of growing deep roots and a network of highly specialized suppliers in Taiwan. As he opened new factories in Japan And Arizona, his most modern chips are still made in Taiwan.

Mr. Lai’s government is trying to respond to Mr. Trump’s complaints that Taiwan goes to his own defense, has a disproportionate trade surplus with the United States and stole the job of the semiconductor of US companies.

Any rupture with Mr. Trump would be a crisis for Taiwan, who has turned to the United States for decades as her main political and military advocate against the potential threats of China. Beijing claims that the island is as its territory and says that he could use the force to take it if his leaders do not see hope for peaceful unification.

Last month, Mr. Lai promised to increase Taiwanese military consumption at over 3 percent of its economic production, with about 2.45 percent this year. Mr. Trump and officials around him said that Taiwan should devote 5 percent, or even 10 percent, his economy to his army.

Mr. Trump has announced new TSMC obligations to Mr. Wei from himself at the White House on Monday. The investment would help TSMC to avoid tariffs on chips made in Taiwan, said Mr. Trump.

The investment will expand the trace of TSMC Arizona with three manufacturing plants to six, add 25,000 jobs and create a research and development center for the development of production processes. Apple is the largest buyer of the facility. TSMC also makes chips for Nvidia, AMD, Qualcomm and Broadcom.

Despite the global importance, TSMC moved away from media attention, and his executives rarely ask journalists. Mr. Wei, Executive Director, suggested that he did not enjoy attention.

“Life has been a bit stressful lately,” he said, “meeting with two presidents in such a short time, and he also had to meet with friends from the media and then answer the questions.”