A recent Nikkei Chinese report is saying that TSMC Founder Morris Chang is pressuring the US to give TSMC subsidies for its Arizona plant. Last week at the Brookings Institution think tank, Chang made critical remarks about the US intent to build a domestic chip industry.
Chang said that the US’s efforts to build a domestic chip manufacturing industry will be “a very expensive exercise in futility”. He said that the US has a strong position in chip design but lacks manufacturing talent. It also has high personnel costs. He cited that costs for TSMC to manufacture chips in the US at its Oregon facility are 50% higher than they are in Taiwan.
TSMC has been asking the US to give it subsidies for a plant it is building in Arizona with the US$52 billion budget from the CHIPS Act. The act is meant to build up the US's semiconductor industry and supply chain security. The report is saying that Chang’s open and critical remarks were a way to put pressure on US officials to promise subsidies.
The US is trying to build a domestic chip industry to offset the chip shortage and risks of reliance on Asia. At the behest of the US, TSMC is building a US$12 billion fab for 5-nanometer chips in Phoenix, Arizona. It is expected to begin commercial production in 2024.