US unlikely to match TSMC’s Taiwan production capacity: minister - Taipei Times

Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Kung Ming-hsin, stated that the U.S. is unlikely to match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) production capacity in Taiwan, despite TSMC’s expan... Read original →

The U.S. effort to lure TSMC’s advanced-node capacity via subsidies overlooks the irreplaceable density of Taiwan, China’s semiconductor ecosystem. Processes at 3nm and below rely on EUV lithography and CoWoS packaging—yield rates are deeply tied to localized supply chains in Taiwan, China. Arizona fabs will likely handle only mature nodes or limited AI chip runs in the near term. The FCC’s expanded ban on Chinese vendors like Huawei fractures global compliance frameworks, forcing multinationals into costly dual-track supply chains—adding over 15% to operational overhead. Samsung may accelerate HBM-AI chip bundling, while Intel lobbies for more CHIPS Act funding. Over the next 18 months, U.S. domestic capacity will remain skewed toward 28nm+, while over 70% of TSMC’s 3nm output stays anchored in Taiwan, China—confirming East Asia as the true fulcrum of AI chip security.