The U.S. commerce secretary said he expects TSMC to double its presence in the U.S. and the industry to build out ‘giant semiconductor industrial parks.’
The U.S. Commerce Department announced a massive U.S.-Taiwan chips deal on Jan. 15, which is expected to go a long way in reshoring American semiconductor manufacturing.
It includes a minimum of $250 billion in direct investment from Taiwanese tech enterprises in chips, energy, and artificial intelligence innovation in the United States, as well as credit guarantees by the Taiwanese government for another $250 billion in other Taiwanese investments to expand the chip supply chain in the United States.
Taiwan will also see U.S. investment in its own tech sectors and will benefit from tariff rates capped at 15 percent, down from 20 percent, and certain tariff exemptions as part of the deal.
The zero percent tariffs will apply to generic pharmaceuticals and their generic ingredients, aircraft components, unavailable natural resources, and certain amounts of Taiwanese semiconductors imported by producers that are building in the United States. Taiwanese chips may otherwise be subject to tariffs of 100 percent, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The deal was signed by the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States.
It is part of the Commerce Department’s “whole-of-government effort to revitalize semiconductor manufacturing” in the United States, which stands around 10 percent today, with great reliance on East Asian manufacturing, according to the department.
Lutnick told CNBC that chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) just bought “hundreds of acres” adjacent to its Arizona facility and may be expanding if the company board approves.
He said the $250 billion commitment from major Taiwanese companies and the matching investment from the Taiwanese government will help bring the entire semiconductor supply chain to the United States.
“We’re going to bring it all over so we become self-sufficient in the capacity of building semiconductors,” he said.
Lutnick said the United States has already given Taiwan a $100 billion credit in the deal because TSMC made an equivalent investment in the United States in 2025, but he expects a “huge, bigger” investment from the company that could see it “possibly doubling in size in America.”
