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TSMC expected to announce $100B investment in U.S.
- qaq 2y agoIs that 100B like 500B stargate thingy or ... ?
- osnium123 2y agoWhat does this mean for Intel’s foundry efforts? Are they basically dead now?
- trhway 2y agoLook at the recent rumor of Intel breakup - the large part is going to TSMC.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 2y agoIt seems unlikely to me that TSMC is both going to spend 100B on their own US operations and however many billions it would cost to acquire Intel's foundry division and set it up for TSMCs process. Though those rumours never made sense to me in the first place. Seems more likely that the Trump admin was pressuring them to possibly invest in Intel, acquisition was briefly considered and instead this compromise of expanding their own US operations was chosen. I expect INTC to retract back towards $18-19 from this news. Recent rally was largely based on hopium surrounding either TSMC investment/partnership or Broadcom/TSMC breakup and acquisition. Probably this kills the Broadcom deal as well. If I were Intel, I wouldn't wanna sell off the more successful chip design division if I couldn't also sell off the floundering foundry.
- impish9208 2y agoGift link: https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-chip-maker-tsmc-expected-to-announce-100-billion-investment-in-u-s-02a44399?st=VtF4va https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-chip-maker-tsmc-expected-to-a...
- ViktorRay 2y agoThank you!
- internetter 2y agohttps://archive.is/fW91i https://archive.is/fW91i
- croes 2y agoI would be cautious. With a top notch chip factory there is no need to defend Taiwan against China.
- bpodgursky 2y agoI would not assume that TSMC leadership is 100% aligned with the national interests of Taiwan as a country.
- emtel 2y agoOTOH, If they have production outside of Taiwan, then they can more credibly threaten to destroy the Taiwanese fabs if China invades.
- croes 2y agoBut with an US fab that’s a threat mainly to China, without it’s global.
- creer 2y agoOne new fab - even if full size - cannot take on anywhere near world needs - even ex-China. So different threat, but yes.
- _t9ow 2y ago> they can more credibly threaten to destroy the Taiwanese fabs if China invades China's interest in Taiwan is ideological. It is not at all determined by whether the Taiwanese destroy their own fabs in the event of an invasion.
- nfw2 2y agoEven if the desire to absorb Taiwan is ideological, they would certainly also understand the severe practical implications of losing access to their chip production.
- aurareturn 2y ago
- Analemma_ 2y agoHow's that huge Foxconn investment in Wisconsin going? I can't believe people are falling for the exact same scam again.
- jasonlotito 2y agoTSMC has followed through already in Arizona where they are actually producing. The CHIPS act has been fairly successful, and I know for a fact that there are other locations already being planned based on the Act. Granted, this administration could just decide to ignore all that, but I gather instead they will just take credit for something the previous administration did.
- puppymaster 2y agoHaving been in Taiwan for 10 years, comments like these totally ignore the differences in personal traits and 誠信 between Terry Guo and Morris Chang. TSMC and the entire upper management is build differently than Foxconn. After all, Arizona factory is about to be up and running no?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- mbStavola 2y agoWhat are the chances that this ends up like the Wisconsin Foxconn deal? Is there anything actually driving a follow through on investment?
- sct202 2y agoTheir first fab in Arizona is completed and ramping production and the second one's structure is in place so it's probably not likely to be vaporware, but they are probably going to be hyping up what they already have done and started.
- aurareturn 2y agoLess likely but could. Chip fab is much more valuable than putting iPhones together.
- bongodongobob 2y agoInitially Foxconn was touted as thousands of high tech high paying jobs until it was revealed that it was just assembly jobs. We'll see what happens.
- aurareturn 2y agoWhat did they think a Foxconn factory is for? High tech what?
- bongodongobob 2y agoMost people have no idea what a Foxconn is other than the 2 minute mention on local news.
- runako 2y agoNot being snarky here, but what is the benefit of a chip fab in Arizona, thousands of miles from the assembly lines where the chips will be used? I get why it would be important for niche (e.g. defense) applications, but is TSMC scale really needed?
- dom96 2y agoWhy the US? Why not Europe? Ireland or UK?
- tensor 2y agoProbably because Europe is not threatening them behind the scenes and perhaps offering money as well. Diversifying chip manufacturing more globally is pretty crucial to maintaining the world order though. Sadly, having a fab in the US under the current administration is not helpful to the west in general. Getting TSMC or building an alternative to TSMC in Europe, UK, Canada, Australia, would be very smart. I believe a lot of the machines TSMC depends on are even produced in Europe, so there should be room to make some deal!
- braincat31415 2y agoI doulbt anyone will build a factory in Europe. It won't be competitive because of the energy prices on the continent.
- tensor 2y agoYou realize that the US buys energy from Canada right? The US has no advantage on energy. Even in Europe, building more power capacity is simply a matter of wanting to.
- braincat31415 2y agoRight. I do. The US buys a lot of it, and it is cheap. As for Europe, you are right, partially it's a matter of a mindset, however there are objective reasons for expensive energy. France's access to cheap uranium is almost gone. Europe refuses to sign long-term russian gas delivery contracts and are buying spot which costs arm and leg (whatever is left of it). German power plants are shuttered. LNG imported from the US is very expensive. Some German CEOs (I think Volkswagen if I recall correctly) said recently that Germany offers no competitive advantage these days. I agree. Where do you think manufacturing will go? Energy is everything.
- world2vec 2y agoMight be a silly question but considering the tensions between US and EU right now... What would happen to all these deals if ASML was was not allowed to sell their machines to US companies? I don't know enough to even speculate on these wild scenarios
- Detrytus 2y agoUS has many military bases across EU, after such hostile act they might as well take control over the Netherlands
- DeathArrow 2y agoLOL. Do you think a few thousand soldiers can beat a country's military? And what makes you think EU countries won't kick out US soldiers until then?
- alienthrowaway 2y agoHow big do you think those bases are, exactly? They are reliant in the host country.
- qalmakka 2y agoIt's a bit naive to expect US bases in Europe to still be there in the next 20 years. First, Trump clearly wants to pull out of Europe, because the current Republican party has basically no interest in Europe whatsoever (and it may even be seen as an enemy by them - it's the embodiment of all the "social state" fears they harbour). Second, if the US stop cooperating with the EU on security and forces Europe to rearm, they would probably become redundant and an easy target for populist movements - especially when Trump is out and will be replaced by a less appealing figure. Meloni, ... won't be able to sell Trump as a role model to their voters for long if he really plans on fucking up the European economy; if there's little to be gained it's easier for populists and nationalist in general to just paint him as an enemy. As a European there's been a lingering feeling of anti-Americanism in Europe that's been somewhat dormant for the last 30 years. It's clearly awakening now, and it risks going mainstream too, which would basically make the position of US bases untenable unless there's a direct reward for them (like, having security guarantees)
- belter 2y agoThis deal had been agreed before... "TSMC plans to invest $65 billion to build three semiconductor fabs in north Phoenix, the largest investment in Arizona history." - https://www.azfamily.com/2024/11/16/tsmc-arizona-secures-funding-ahead-trumps-term-other-companies-scramble/ https://www.azfamily.com/2024/11/16/tsmc-arizona-secures-fun...
- Hajsgj 2y agoNo, secretary of commerce Lutnick said that the $65 billion deal was Biden's and was subsidized by the US ($6 billion). He then bragged that Trump extorted TSMC using tariffs and forced TSMC to invest another $100 billion to avoid tariffs. The US is using tariffs to have other nations build "their" industry. After that work is done, these nations will be ready to become new theaters for US proxy wars.
- belter 2y agoFrom the article: "TSMC plans to invest $65 billion to build three semiconductor fabs in north Phoenix, the largest investment in Arizona history."
- 3zqzet 2y agoSigh. From the horse's mouth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7MH1zLEYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7MH1zLEYU Lutnick: "America um under the Biden Administration uh tsmc received a $6 billion Grant and that encouraged them to build 65 billion dollar so America gave tsmc 10% of the money to build here and now you're seeing the power of Donald Trump's presidency because tsmc the greatest manufacturer of chips in the world is coming to America with a hundred billion dollar investment and of course that is backed by the fact that they can come here because they can avoid paying tariffs so the idea is come to America build greatness in America."
- lesuorac 2y agoBut that horse doesn't sound reliable. TSMC never pays tariffs anyways, whomever did the importing does so companies like Apple, GM, Tesla, etc. An announced deal really should be worthless politically, we've all seen Foxconn or Apple announce big investments during Trump's first presidency for them to just walk it back later.
- dustbunny 2y agoHow will this affect Intel?
- nblgbg 2y agoI am a bit skeptical about all the announcements. Are companies really investing, or just making announcements? I wish it were the latter!
- yo_yo_yo-yo 2y agoI cannot even begin to imagine what madness has infected the Taiwanese government to allow this. I feel so sorry for a great, entrepreneurial people. US tariffs will not matter when you are blockaded and Chester Nimitz is very much dead. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43123628 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43123628
- suraci 2y ago[flagged]
- jichiduo 2y agoexactly
- cornhole 2y agoTroll harder, wumao
- SecretDreams 2y agoI'm surprised by the level of brigading anything even remotely political experiences on this forum. I understood the setup is vulnerable to it by nature, but it's just so blatant.
- tyre 2y ago“Our continued protection of you is contingent on your investment in us”. Taiwan is hugely reliant on US defense guarantees. The US has a protectionist president who likes big numbers in announcements and a base riled up about American production capacity. Long-term this is bad for Taiwan since it reduces its leverage with the US in administrations with short-term geopolitics (or no real geopolitical talent.) In the short-term, they might not have much choice.
- jayd16 2y ago> The US has a protectionist president We do?
- aurareturn 2y agoAn ok deal for TSMC, terrible deal for Taiwan. Why? TSMC was likely threatened by Trump to invest in America. TSMC likely didn't want to do this. However, because they will have more fabs in the US, they'll likely avoid the tariffs as part of the deal. Further more, TSMC will still make chips in case of of a China take over. The risk here is that the US will simply confiscate TSMC's fabs if China uses military action on Taiwan based on security measures. That's the worst case scenario for TSMC. For Taiwan, it's a terrible deal because the money is not invested in Taiwan and the island becomes less important in the world. The "silicon shield" would also be broken and the Taiwanese government has zero control over fabs in the US. It remains to be seen if this will truly happen. Perhaps TSMC will always keep its most cutting edge node in Taiwan. Perhaps they'll drag this out over the next 4 years in hopes that Trump's party gets voted out.
- FpUser 2y agoMaybe TSMC has big influence over Taiwan's government or just outright owns key politicians under the table. When / if TSMC secures that all lifecycle for advanced large scale chip manufacturing is in the US, Taiwan might find themselves in very iffy waters.
- aurareturn 2y agoI'm sure TSMC has a lot of influence over the Taiwanese government. However, the people of Taiwan aren't stupid in all of this. They know this is a horrible deal for them and would make sure their politicians hear about it.
- koolba 2y agoThey must have a massive influence. I think its gross revenue is something like 10% of the GDP of the whole country.
- simondotau 2y agoEven that understates things. TSMC is Taiwan’s singular Trump card in geopolitical negotiations. Now that righteousness and moral high grounds don’t matter any more, it’s the only thing keeping Taiwan safe.
- evo_9 2y agoI wonder what these comments would look like if this deal happened 2-3 years ago by Joe Biden.
- forgotoldacc 2y agoA vastly different geopolitical situation would get vastly different comments.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- okdood64 2y agoProbably not too different if: Biden acted like Trump during his first 100 days, was extremely abrasive and disrespectful to Zelensky, told NATO the US isn't going forward with any more security commitments, and then this deal happened. Context matters.
- HamsterDan 2y agoDo you really have to wonder? It's a huge win for the US. The comments would rightfully be calling it a huge win for the US.
- hereme888 2y agoGood! Come to America.
- munk-a 2y agoIt seems like this news predated Musk's agency taking an axe to CHIPS ACT staffing. It'll be curious to see if this ends up happening or if they pull the expansion when the subsidies are reduced.
- tnt128 2y agoThe idea that the US protects Taiwan from a possible Chinese invasion over chips is one of those things that sounds believable but really isn't going to happen. From China’s perspective, the cost of war is much higher than the cost of developing these chips themselves. In the worst-case scenario, they would be 2-3 years behind the cutting edge, which is not mission-critical. Most electronics (civilian or military) don’t really need cutting-edge chips, and China has already proven that they don’t need the latest chips to be a significant AI competitor. From the US’s perspective, if a war with China were to break out now, there are only three possible scenarios: 1. China takes Taiwan quickly. In this case, there would be nothing for US to defend, and the US would have to try to take Taiwan back militarily—unlikely to happen. 2. Stalemate. Taiwanese people fight bravely, and Chinese forces turn out to be weaker than expected. In this case, the US would be in a comfortable position to send aid and weapons to help Taiwan, prolonging the war to weaken China. With some luck, a regime change could happen without firing a shot. 3. Taiwan successfully defends itself, repels the Chinese invasion, and possibly even takes back some territory—an unlikely scenario, but this is the only one where the US would send troops to help defend Taiwan. If the US gets involved at this stage, it secures a sure win, puts a military base on the island, and further cements its role as the protector of taiwan. If you believe the US will or should only act in its own interest, then its interest is to remain the only superpower. Rushing into a war on foreign turf and losing is the quickest way to cede the Asia-Pacific region to China. So, despite what politicians might have you believe, the US is not going to help defend Taiwan, no matter who is in the White House.
- mu53 2y agoThe US is not going to help defend Taiwan is a fair thesis, but reciprocally, China is not going to attack Taiwan. Even if Russia gets all of it's demands in the peacemaking process with Ukraine, that war has done permanent and lasting damage to it's economy and global position. For China to attack Taiwan, it would give up any hope of continuing it's healthy trends towards increased economic and political importance. Eventually, Taiwan will re-join China when it is sufficiently strong. It's symbolism as a continued humiliation by the west is more useful as propaganda than an actual military target.
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- PeterStuer 2y agoIsn't this bad news for Intel? Personally I'not sure. An on shore TSMC will certainly help Intel with easier access to knowledge and experienced researchers and workers. OTOH having a US based alternative to their fabs makes them less needed for a strategic pov.
- DeathArrow 2y agoIf anything, this move might motivate China to attack Taiwan ASAP. They already lost access to Taiwanese chips, why would they let US to build capacity?
- tokioyoyo 2y agoChina is Taiwan’s biggest trade partner. There’s no political will for China to attack Taiwan yet, as everything is just pointing towards China becoming so humongous in terms of power that Taiwan would fold without any bloodshed.
- aurareturn 2y agoBecause China stated has a law that states they will use military force if a peaceful reunification is "impossible". Right now, it's still possible. And if Taiwan plays its cards right, they can extend this for longer and buy more time. China wants to retake Taiwan without firing a shot.
- yujzgzc 2y agoTrump involuntarily did more for Taiwan / mainland unification in one meeting with Zelensky than in all the years prior. Taiwanese now understand that they can't trust US to step up to their security commitments. If US won't do it for Europeans being savagely attacked by aggressive neighbors, they won't do it for Taiwanese being blockaded by mainland. At that point Taiwan tariffs and China tariffs will be the same. That was brandished as a powerful weapon about Hong Kong and didn't really do much.
- altacc 2y agoThe difference is that China is on Trump's enemy list, whereas he considers Russia's oligarchs to be potential business partners for his own oligarchy. Trump wants trade barriers to China but wants those with Russia to be removed.
- gizzlon 2y ago> The difference is that China is on Trump's enemy list Until the right Chinese person sucks up to Trump. Maybe someone with a less ..ehrm. . Asian look that Xi? (I don't know why, but Trump seems to admire Putin and despise Xi. . could be for all sorts of reasons, I guess)
- yujzgzc 2y agoPerhaps, but in the event of a conflict, I have trouble imagining him insisting that US must send more weapons to Taiwan to continue fighting. I will be very curious to see the next polls on Taiwanese opinions re. unification as they face the fact that the US security umbrella is now leaky...
- af78 2y ago> China is on Trump's enemy list I hear that a lot, but is it true? I don't see signs that this Admin is doing anything to prepare for a confrontation with the PRC; rather, signs of the contrary: TikTok ban reversed, conciliatory tone towards Xi, talk about a 50% reduction in defense spending, even nuclear disarmament, not to mention the mess DOGE is doing at the DoD. And Musk has significant exposure in China. Of course, I'll be glad to stand corrected if I missed something.
- midasz 2y agoAny and all promises made by the Trump administration mean nothing
- angry_octet 2y agoI wonder how much Trump crypto they are going to have to buy to keep their country.
- neonsunset 2y agoI hope they reconsider. The US does not appear to be a counterparty which can be trusted to follow through with their obligations anymore and this venture sounds quite risky.
- stevetron 2y agoIt is my understanding that FABS require a lot of water. I don't think Arizona has enough water. I could be wrong, though. They keep a nuclear power plant running in AZ by piping in gray water for it.
- amusingimpala75 2y agoIntel has a fab nearby as well which is actually net positive for potable water because they take in waste water and purify it enough that it goes back into the supply after they’re done using it.
- pavpanchekha 2y agoFabs recycle the water so it's not a big deal. A lot of water by industrial standards is not a lot of water by state standards, even if we're talking about a pretty desert-y state.
- petercooper 2y agoApparently it'll use the equivalent of about 12,000 homes worth of water but have technology to recycle about 65% of their use, so ultimately ~5000 homes worth of water? https://eu.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/2024/06/12/tsmc-arizona-water-use-recycling/74059522007/ https://eu.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/... A lot but about 10% of current household growth in Arizona so they'll surely "find a way."
- TheGlav 2y agoRecycling tech exists so that net-water use can be zero or near zero. It's a matter of spending the extra money on it: it's cheaper not to.
- angrytechie 2y agoEven before getting into the geopolitics, isn't this almost exactly what the CHIPS act was supposed to do? You know, the one that the Trump team cut to shreds? This feels like it's all TV. Trump is doing what he's great at: slapping his name on work other people did in order to steal credit.
- dmix 2y ago> You know, the one that the Trump team cut to shreds? I looked this up and sounds like they let probationary employees go (40/140 employees at dept of commerce CHIPS office) + 20 voluntarily resigned. I wonder if that was intentional or just the usual DOGE indiscriminate chaos. https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-chips-act-office-losing-191830118.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-chips-act-office-losing-191830... The article does claim: > The staff cuts, while significant, aren’t as deep as some within the government and chip industry anticipated. In particular, they won’t have a major impact on the teams responsible for negotiating with companies and evaluating their progress toward contractual benchmarks, a person familiar with the matter said. The chips office leadership urged against cuts to those departments in recent meetings with Lutnick. Addtionally, NIST's CHIPS office also had probationary cuts...CHIPS has two parts, one subsidizing companies via Dept of Commerce and a 2nd big investment in public sector research which NIST was doing. https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/02/21/news-trumps-moves-could-delay-chips-act-funding-distribution-as-nist-plans-major-staff-cuts/ https://www.trendforce.com/news/2025/02/21/news-trumps-moves... It's also congress assigned money so they probably can't claw it back (legally), the legislative branch controls the purse. But they could slow walk it or try to change the rules.
- bitsage 2y agoTrump has long boasted that he could have gotten semiconductor investments without subsidies. He would see it as a win if TSMC did the same thing, or even more, for free.
- jmyeet 2y agoUnderpinning a lot of Taiwan discourse is the idea that China has the capability to invade Taiwan. It does not. Nor do I think it actually wants to. China (IMHO) is happy to leave the Taiwan Question unanswered and unresolved. Roughly 100 miles of open ocean separates the Chinese mainland from Taiwan. It may as well be 10,000 miles. The difference is the same. That is an absolutely uncrossable gap for the Chinese military. Taiwan has a standing army of 150K+ and a million+ reservists. I've seen estimates that China would need to land half a million troops to invade and occupy Taiwan, minimum. China simply does not have that amphibious capability. Beyond the direct military capability, you need supply lines. The logistical effort is so easily disrupted. On a clear day, you can see the white cliffs of Dover from Calais in France yet for 5+ years the German Army, being millions strong, was completley incapable of crossing that gap of roughly 17 miles. It took the Allies years to muster the logistics necessary to invade Europe and it really took bad strategy by the Germans to allow that to happen (eg the whole Fortress Europa effort was silly and a complete waste of manpower). A wide enough river is sufficient barrier to stop even a modern army. Could China lob missiles at Taiwan? Sure, but to what end? Could they institute a naval blockade of Taiwan? Absolutely. But again, to what end? The American State Department will tell you it's because China is the Big Bad, the USSR 2.0. But just like with the USSR< the US likes to have an ideological foe to distract ordinary people from the fact that they're getting fleeced by the wealthy. It's worth adding that the official policy of the US government is the One China policy [1]. The US isn't actually interested in an independent Taiwan. So let's stop talking aobut invading Taiwan like it's a thing that's going to happen. What I suspect TSMC is doing here is hedging against a tarde war, diversifying their production and ingratiating itself with the US for when things like chip fabs become a sufficient national security interest that the US actually wants domestic supply and/or starts restricting what can be exported to Taiwan. [1]: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/understanding-the-one-china-policy/ https://www.brookings.edu/articles/understanding-the-one-chi...
- bitsage 2y agoChina definitely prefers the status quo. With both countries’ rapidly aging demographics, a peaceful reunification might actually be feasible later this century. If Putin and Kim Jong Un are any indication, Xi is more likely to act if he thinks the status quo will be interrupted.
- billychuck21st 2y agoThose thinking China vs Taiwan is like Russia vs Ukraine is greatly mistaken. The Chinese army after decades of build up is way stronger than Russia's, the enire PLA navy and airforce are built for a war with Taiwan. Ukraine still has Europe, Taiwan only has Japan, and has no border to any other countries. If the US wants to intervene, it must throw in its full weight, like the entire pacific fleet and some more, otherwise they won't be able to beat the PLA at its doorstep. With the current US administration, I can't imagine how it would do that "trade". I think it's far more likely the US will "sell" Taiwan to China for some deal that benefits the US financially or politicially.
- VWWHFSfQ 2y ago> I think it's far more likely the US will "sell" Taiwan to China for some deal that benefits the US financially or politicially. This will happen after USA extricates all the meaningful tech and re-homes the institutions and workforce required to maintain that tech to the USA mainland. Still probably a decade or two away, but likely.
- bloppe 2y agoWhy would China will wait for a decade? They've been very clear about wanting to invade by 2027
- xxpor 2y agoThey want to be ready to invade by 2027. Very different.
- bloppe 2y agoI hope you're right, but I see no reason to be that optimistic.
- mtrovo 2y agoIf they're sure they can invade whenever they want, does it make sense to do it right now? What would they gain by sending all the good tech and researchers straight to the US? The longer they wait, the more advanced the tech they eventually steal might be. It's the golden goose story, but with a strategic rationale of when to kill the goose.
- munificent 2y agoI'll believe it when the check clears. In 2017, Trump and Scott Walker did a whole dog an pony show about how they convinced Foxconn to spend $10 billion in Wisconsin on a factory that was going to employ 13,000 people. Trump got a giant pile of good press about it. Then nothing happened, then the agreement was scaled down, then more delays. A couple of buildings were built then left empty and eventually sold off. But Trump supporters never followed up to see what happened. They just saw the initial press releases, declared a win, and forgot about the whole thing. Now we're doing it again.
- ge96 2y agoI feel like he always exaggerates everything "the best AI chip, the biggest, nobody even close" is that true... NVIDIA, Samsung, ASML, etc... Could learn from him, how to sell yourself
- diamond559 2y agoYeah no, they will pair back their "plans" when the recession breaks out like every other company. Like we need way more chatbots and "ai" assistants... The bubble has burst.
- strangattractor 2y agoYou mean like Foxconn building LCDs in the US in his first term. The CEOs line up - bend the knee - 2 years later things change in the plans evaporate. https://www.theverge.com/policy/2019/4/26/18518650/foxconn-wisconsin-factory-lcd-buildings-us https://www.theverge.com/policy/2019/4/26/18518650/foxconn-w...
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- mullingitover 2y agoI was surprised to learn Taiwan has dabbled in nuclear weapons in the past. They actually got caught developing them and had to swear they'd stop. Given that the US is doing a professional wrestling 'heel turn' and is now The Bad Guys, I wouldn't be surprised if, like NK, they just come out and announce that they have nukes. Honestly, and this is bad for the world but smart in a game theory sense, I think a lot of countries that depended on the US being a force for stability either go the Israel route ("We won't say if we have nukes or not" wink) or just announce that they have them and do public tests to prove it.
- sackbut 2y agoTaiwan can still blow up their TSMC plants and fire conventional missiles at the three gorges damn to inflict near nuclear results on China.
- throwup238 2y agoNeither of which would achieve any strategic goals. TSMC is only important because Western economies crave cutting edge silicon and causing a natural disaster by destroying the dam would not only strengthen the resolve of the Chinese public but alienate the rest of the world.
- rl3 2y agoDeterrence is in and of itself a strategic goal.
- plaguuuuuu 2y agoTSMC chips are used in basically everything military - computers obviously, but also tanks, planes, carriers, signals.... Taiwan would be quite invested in TSMC being a supplier of these.
- crote 2y agoAre TSMC chips crucial for them, though? As I understand it, the military generally isn't a big fan of "move fast and break things". They prefer mature, well-designed, and reliable products because it's a matter of life and death - and development takes years. A 2025 tank isn't going to use chips made using TSMC's cutting-edge 3nm node. Personally I'd expect the fastest chips to be using at best something like the decade-old 14nm node, with the vast majority being on even more mature nodes. Sure, TSMC can produce them, but so can pretty much everyone else. Losing TSMC would be a major blow, but I doubt it'd have a huge long-term impact logistics-wise for the military.
- NicoJuicy 2y agoI don't expect TSMC to continue on this. Trump is cancelling the CHIPS act and Taiwan is more valuable with TSMC in Taiwan. They need as much guarantees as they can under an untrustworthy US ( with Trump).
- scotty79 2y agoIf US keeps pissing off EU it's gonna have to spend next decade developing its own extreme UV lithography machines to catch up to the ones EU will start to supply to China and stop supplying to Taiwan and US. Lack of domestic fabs is going to be least of US worries.