TSMC: 'Attempts to revive the US chip industry will fail'

TSMC said that America's attempt to rebuild the semiconductor industry is certain to fail, because the company is stuck in a technological cold war.

The FT quoted a source close to the matter as saying that US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met TSMC co-founders Morris Chang and Mark Liu in August. Mr. Chang told Pelosi that US efforts to rebuild the manufacturing industry chip production at home will not be successful. The Taiwanese chip company also says it is in a technology cold war.

Agreeing with Mr. Morris Chang, Brad Martin, director of the Institute of National Security Supply Chain Research at Rand Corporation (USA), said: "Monopoly in semiconductor manufacturing creates instability. If the US has to If you make the decision between protecting your economy, it's going to be a tough choice."

Market share of semiconductor manufacturing markets from 1990 to 2020. Source: FT

TSMC , a company founded by Morris Chang in 1987 in Taiwan, has risen to become the world's leading chip manufacturer, accounting for 20% of global production of wafers. and 92% advanced chip capacity.

During the same period, the US market share in the global chip manufacturing industry fell from 37% in 1990 to 12% in 2020. Many new laws show that the US is worried about being too dependent on foreign companies and wants to shake it up. domestic chip industry. On August 9, US President Joe Biden signed the Chip and Science Act, which earmarks nearly $53 billion for incentives in semiconductor manufacturing and $200 billion for research into AI, quantum computing and other technologies. other advanced technology. These are also areas that the Chinese government considers a national priority.

Mr. Biden said on the day of signing the bill: "America invented the semiconductor, and this law will bring semiconductors back to its homeland. It is in the economic interest and in the national security interest. The United States must leading the world in advanced chip manufacturing. This law will do just that," he said.

However, analysts say that despite pouring a lot of money and increasing incentives, the US still does not have many opportunities. Experts at investment bank Credit Suisse said that if the world could not access Taiwan's source of chips, production of everything from computers to cars would be disrupted. Apple will also be affected, as it is heavily dependent on TSMC for chip production. While the company has expanded some of its manufacturing operations to other countries such as Vietnam and India, those moves have not solved chip supply problems.

TSMC has tried to help the US by planning to build a semiconductor facility in Arizona, which is expected to start operating in early 2024. However, even the company's leaders do not have clear faith in it. ambitions for a country that can be self-sufficient in the chip industry.