Taiwan Chipmaker Announces US Factory as Apple Pledges to Expand Taiwan Investment

Semiconductor giant TSMC will invest $12 billion in a new Arizona chip plant, it announced Friday, while Apple will expand its Taiwan footprint.

Semiconductor giant TSMC announced Friday it would invest $12 billion to establish a new chip factory in Arizona, days after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration was pushing TSMC and other chipmakers to develop plants in the United States as Pentagon officials worry about protecting global supply chains in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
TSMC said the five-nanometer chip production plant would create over 1,600 high-tech professional jobs. Construction will start in 2021, the company said in a Friday morning statement.
The manufacturer, which makes the chips found in iPhones, had been in talks with the U.S. Commerce and Defense Departments along with Apple Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported.
Separately, Apple is planning to make a $334 million investment to build a new plant in Taiwan, expanding its existing branch in Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan, the science park’s bureau said.
While China remains Taiwan’s largest trade partner, the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen has sought to diversify the country’s economy and has encouraged Taiwanese factories in China to move back to Taiwan or to relocate to South and Southeast Asia.
Foxconn, the Taiwanese consumer electronics giant that produces iPhones, has attempted to relocate production to other countries for years, including Vietnam. However, Chinese media reports said in April it was building a new plant in China in a bid to enter the semiconductor industry.

This article was written by Nick Aspinwall 

To read the full article, please click on the following link: https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/taiwan-chipmaker-announces-us-factory-as-apple-pledges-to-expand-taiwan-investment/