Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday.
US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp.
Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back in his country.
Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei Times
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Kuo said that “no one can shake the foundations” of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry.
“We have to have confidence in TSMC, and the government will fully support the ‘sacred mountain protecting the country,’” he said, using an expression that refers both to the importance of the chip sector and TSMC to Taiwan’s economy.
The government will not interfere in TSMC’s decisions, Kuo said.
“For TSMC to go into the world and have a joint venture in any location, it definitely needs government permission,” he added.
Large overseas investments need to be approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Taiwan does not allow its companies to produce the most advanced chips in China.
Kuo said there is no change to these rules, but permission must still be first obtained from the government for such production in countries other than China.
TSMC is in the process of investing US$65 billion in new factories in the US state of Arizona, with the government giving permission for what is currently the most advanced 2-nanometer chips to be made there, but not for a couple of years.
Taiwan, which runs a large trade surplus with the US, could also be subject to wide-ranging import tariffs Trump has threatened to impose to deal with trade imbalances.
Kuo said the ministry was collecting information for government negotiators to talk to the Trump administration on the tariffs issue to seek the best conditions for Taiwanese companies, but he declined to comment on the contents of the talks.
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