It was post-epidemic: Can the United States no longer tolerate TSMC’s “technology neutrality”? Anue Juheng-Taiwan News



[ad_1]

Since the President of the United States, Trump, opened the trade war between the United States and China, there has been a technology company that has remained neutral and has tried to avoid fighting with both sides. However, “Bloomberg” columnist Tim Culpan, the time for TSMC to make a decision seems to have come.

Whether in the United States or China, TSMC (2330-TW) is a major supplier to the two countries, OEMs for tech giants such as Apple (AAPL-US), Qualcomm (QCOM-US), Nvidia (NVDA-US), and Huawei. It manufactures the most advanced chip in the world.

US authorities are now concerned that the continued acquisition and development of the most advanced semiconductors by China has posed an urgent and critical threat to US national security. USA This has also prompted US authorities to adopt a dual strategy in recent years to limit China’s capacity. Adoption and development.

In the past, TSMC’s strategy has always been to remain neutral. Taiwan represents the vast majority of the company’s production capacity. The company also has two factories in China and one factory in Washington state.

Many of TSMC's assets are in Taiwan (Photo: Bloomberg)
Many of TSMC’s assets are in Taiwan (Photo: Bloomberg)

However, with the impact of the outbreak on global manufacturing today, it seems the time has come to choose. The outbreak of the epidemic seems to highlight the importance of the need for US authorities to protect the supply chain from harm, and also exacerbates concerns about dependence on chip providers. The United States government is working to promote Intel (INTC-US), TSMC and Samsung Electronics. Wafer manufacturers expand their operations in the United States.

Intel also proposed that the United States strengthen domestic production for “geopolitical” reasons. Intel has the majority of its employees in the United States and more than half of its plants and equipment, including manufacturing plants in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon.

TSMC has continued its efforts to postpone the establishment of factories in the United States and actively coordinate with the United States, but the current situation, the relevant negotiations may be difficult to continue, in addition to requiring the TSMC to establish factories in the United States, US authorities also hope to limit China’s purchase of TSMC. This also puts TSMC in a dilemma.

Last year, the US market USA It represented approximately 59% of TSMC’s revenue, and the income of Chinese customers represented approximately 19%. However, China’s growth trend continues to be strong as China has focused on the development of artificial intelligence, 5G communications, security monitoring, and Possible Weapon Parts.

The United States is the largest TSMC market today (Photo: Bloomberg)
The United States is the largest TSMC market today (Photo: Bloomberg)

Recently, US authorities have increasingly expected TSMC to become the exclusive foundry in the United States. In the past year, TSMC has had a large number of US clients and has contributed greatly to revenue. The pressure from American customers has increased significantly.

Tim Culpan believes that China is indeed an important and growing market. Chinese authorities have also used this trend to actively expand, but in terms of scale or technological leadership over the next 20 years, they cannot replace the United States. To alleviate concerns and restrictions on China’s supply, TSMC may not have a choice in multiple choice questions for “United States and China.”

(This article is not open for reprint by cooperative means)




[ad_2]