USA lures chip giant TSMC into the country – and triggers existential fears in Taiwan

Tokyo “Holy Mountain” – that’s what the people in Taiwan call their chip giant TSMC. They assign an almost mythological significance to the world’s largest contract manufacturer of semiconductors. The corporation, according to popular belief, protects the country from all economic and geopolitical typhoons, including a threatened invasion by China.

Accordingly, the company’s announcement that it would triple its investments in the US to $40 billion fueled fears of loss. The conservative newspaper “China Times” reports that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. with such a focus on the United States could not sustain its production in Taiwan.

“TSMC becomes USMC” writes the newspaper – in this case the U stands for USA. With its Chips Act for America, Washington is pumping $52 billion in subsidies into the market to lure semiconductor manufacturers into the country.