TSMC thinks that the Trump Administration will continue Presidential support for the CHIPS Act. Which is good news. The CHIPS Act is one of the only things Congress has gotten off their butts to do that actually helps stimulate a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of “stealing” his country’s chip industry. But Taiwan’s biggest chip company is confident the Trump administration will continue funding its projects in the U.S.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co has been promised $6.6 billion under the Joe Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science ACT to help build three cutting-edge chip fabrication plants in Arizona as part of U.S. efforts to onshore chip manufacturing.
Well, I had mentioned previously that Donald Trump appeared to be lukewarm on the CHIPS Act. It seems he and other Republicans may have warmed up even more. I’m hoping they’ve recognized the benefits of the CHIPS Act and will continue the stimulation of a domestic semiconductor ecosystem with an even larger CHIPS Act II.
A CHIPS Act II is necessary to the safety of American society. The United States cannot continue to be dependent on an endless number of fabs that are situated on the ring of fire. It is an extreme risk and unless it is addressed we will all be horribly sorry for our refusal to act.
For example Japanese companies make up about 30% of global sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and 9% of global semiconductor manufacturing. In Taiwan, TSMC itself hold about 65% of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity. They sit squarely on the ring of fire and so are prone to earthquakes.
Can you imagine if 65% of global capacity was just gone overnight?
Societies would breakdown. Literally, if a serious earthquake hit and fabs were destroyed societies across the globe would gradually cease to function as supplies of semiconductors dwindled. Fabs cannot be built overnight. The replacement semiconductor manufacturing equipment would take forever to build. There’s just too much to replace. Yet that could be our future.
It is my hope that the CHIPS Act II will focus on building an entire semiconductor ecosystem in geologically stable regions. It’s what the United States needs to do.