US President Donald Trump yesterday said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) is one of the "most respected" people in the business world and is fully aware that his company should make large investments in the US to avoid tariffs.
The US' current tariff policies would allow the US public to see "immediate" benefits, and TSMC has pledged to invest billions in the US to avoid tariffs on its products, Trump said in an interview with conservative TV host Sharyl Attkisson on her program Full Measure.
"So you have the biggest chipmaker in the world coming in with US$200 billion," Trump said. "Mr Wei, one of the most respected people in business ... he's coming in, he's spending hundreds of billions of dollars, and he'll be spending it largely in Arizona."
Photo: Bloomberg
Trump said his tariffs threats have prompted many companies to bring large amounts of money into the US to build plants, which would need contractors, subcontractors, concrete and steel suppliers, and would provide more benefits down the road as job openings increase.
The investment figure cited by Trump in the interview was at odds with the amount announced earlier for the expected new investment in the US by TSMC.
On March 3, during a visit to the White House by Wei, Trump said that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US.
Wei has said that the US$100 billion would be spent to build three new wafer fabs, two advanced IC packaging plants, and a research and development center in the state of Arizona.
TSMC has already invested US$65 billion in three wafer fabs in Arizona, and the additional US$100 billion that was announced would push up the company's total investments in the US to US$165 billion.
The expanded investment is expected to support 40,000 construction jobs over the next four years and drive more than US$200 billion of indirect economic output in Arizona and across the US in the next decade, TSMC said.
The announcement of higher TSMC investments came amid threats by Trump to impose tariffs on semiconductors, which was seen as likely to include those from Taiwan.
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