Government announces $100 billion Taiwanese investment in the semiconductor sector

President Donald Trump, together with the CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), announced Monday that the Taiwanese company will invest $100 billion over four years to boost the semiconductor sector in the United States.

Several specialized media reported the information early Monday and the federal government later confirmed it at a press conference. The announcement came after a meeting between Donald Trump and the CEO of TSMC, C.C. Wei.

The investment by the Taiwanese business giant is good news for the United States in the midst of a debate about what relations between the Trump Administration and the island of Taiwan, which is threatened by China and accounts for half of the world's market share in the semiconductor sector, would be like.

Doubts arose that Taiwan needs US support against China, and at the same time Trump must keep his promises to protect jobs and companies producing in the United States. Strengthening cooperation and programs with the Taipei government and its civil society are an important step in the pugnacious agenda for global hegemony with China.

This is not the first time a US Administration has strengthened its cooperation with the Taiwanese chip industry. The US supported TSMC's growth through the Chip Act of 2022, which earmarked tens of billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic chip manufacturing. TSMC received as much as $6.6 billion in subsidies, and has recently begun receiving federal money from the program. Generous tax credits have also boosted chip-making projects in the United States.

A "national security" issue for the United States

According to what was announced at the White House on Monday, the Taiwanese investment will be particularly focused on Arizona. Trump defined the TSMC investment as a matter of "national security" for the United States, because of the importance of semiconductors in the US industry.

"Without the chips or the semiconductors, nothing works," the president added regarding the importance of domestically producing this product. The United States has been fighting for years to be the one to take semiconductors home, in competition with China, who intends to take a share of the market through the influence it is trying to exert over Taiwan.

According to Donald Trump, who responded to some questions, an estimated 25,000 jobs could be created in the United States by TSMC's investment. According to the president, this figure could grow after a few years.