Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) attended the White House summit of leading semiconductor chipmakers on Monday. TSMC is the world’s largest contract chipmaker and has plans to build a factory in Arizona.
The summit was to address the current global semiconductor shortage and the US’s plans to strengthen US supply chains.
The summit was hosted by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. A total of 19 companies attended including fellow chipmakers Samsung, GlobalFoundries and Intel as well as automakers General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis.
US officials are concerned about the global shortage of semiconductors, which has affected automakers’ ability to keep up with consumer demand as well as the overall recovery of the global economy.
On Monday, President Joe Biden said he received a letter from a bipartisan group of 23 senators and 42 representatives urging passage of the CHIPS for America Act. The act is a proposed US$50 billion investment in semiconductor manufacturing and research. Biden told the executives that there was bipartisan support to strengthen the US semiconductor industry.
TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said that TSMC's planned US$12 billion investment in an advanced chip plant in Phoenix is one of the United States's largest overseas investment plans in recent years. He is confident the project would succeed with bipartisan support from Washington.
The 5-nanometer chip plant in Arizona is scheduled to begin operations in 2024 with a capacity of 20,000 wafers a month. It is projected to create 1,600 high tech jobs and also over 1,000 additional jobs in the semiconductor supply chain.