By Wen-Yee Lee
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC is expanding investment in the United States because of large U.S. customer demand, its CEO said on Thursday, adding that its production lines there are already fully booked for this year and the next two years.
TSMC CEO C.C. Wei also said at a press conference held at Taiwan’s presidential office, the company’s $100 billion investment plan announced this week would not impact the chipmaker’s expansion in Taiwan amid concerns it could damage the island’s semiconductor industry.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to build five additional chip facilities amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on semiconductor imports.
TSMC’s overseas investment plans also include projects in Japan and Germany.
While TSMC plans to build three new production lines in the U.S. over coming years, it will build 11 more new production lines in Taiwan this year, Wei told reporters.
“We will continue to build them (in Taiwan) because it is still not enough,” he said.
The new U.S. expansion plan comes after Trump has repeatedly criticised Taiwan, saying it has taken away American semiconductor business and that he wants manufacturing to return to the United States.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told reporters on Thursday that the government has received no pressure from Washington during TSMC’s latest investment process and his government would make sure the chipmaker gets support for domestic expansion.
Taiwan’s cabinet said on Tuesday it would review the investment, which requires government approval, but that it viewed overseas investments that would raise Taiwan’s overall competitiveness positively.
Taiwan’s dominant position as a maker of chips used in technology from cellphones and cars to fighter jets has sparked concerns of over-reliance on the island, especially as China ramps up pressure to assert its sovereignty claims.
As a key manufacturing partner to Nvidia, Apple and Qualcomm, TSMC is central to the U.S. chip industry, and bringing more of its production to U.S. soil would solve a major supply chain risk for those firms.
However, Trump said on Tuesday U.S. lawmakers should get rid of a landmark 2022 bipartisan law to give $52.7 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. and use the proceeds to pay debt.
(Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee; Writing by Brenda Goh and Miyoung Kim; Editing by Kim Coghill and Elaine Hardcastle)
