On Monday, March 3rd, US President Trump and Chairman and CEO of TSMC, Wei Zhejia, held a press conference at the White House, announcing that TSMC will be investing over a hundred billion US dollars in the United States. Trump, responding to questions about the issue of China’s potential invasion of Taiwan, stated that it would be a disaster, with significant implications for TSMC’s investments in the US.
TSMC, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, revealed on Monday its plans to invest at least $100 billion in the next four years in chip manufacturing plants in the United States as part of its expansion of the company’s chip factory network.
In response to a question from reporters about minimizing the impact on US chips if Beijing decides to isolate or occupy Taiwan, Trump said it was a very interesting perspective and indeed a good question.
“I can’t say it will be minimized, but that would obviously be a catastrophic event. However, this investment (by TSMC in the US) will at least give us a foothold in this very, very important business. We will have a significant presence in the US, so if something happens in Taiwan, it will have a big impact,” Trump remarked.
TSMC stated that its expansion plans include building three new chip manufacturing plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a large-scale research and development center.
On Monday, Trump said, “This is a major move for the world’s most powerful company. It is about economic security and it is a national security issue for us.” He also mentioned that this move would help TSMC diversify and not be limited to chip manufacturing only in Taiwan.
During a White House cabinet meeting on February 26th, when asked if the US would take action to prevent China from forcibly controlling Taiwan, Trump responded, “I never comment on these issues.”
“I do not comment on any such issue—because, I never want to put myself in that position. And, even if I were going to say something, I certainly wouldn’t say it to you (referring to the media). I would say it to other people, perhaps to everyone present,” he stated.
On February 25th, US Secretary of State Pompeo, in an interview with Fox News, expressed that the US will not abandon its long-standing position on the Taiwan issue. Regarding China’s potential actions against Taiwan, he responded by saying, “The US has made commitments to prevent such situations from occurring and will respond accordingly, and will execute those commitments. That’s our position, and the Chinese (Communist Party) also know this.”
He reiterated, “We hope that such a situation won’t happen, and the best way to prevent it from happening is by having strength— the White House has a strong leader, we have President Trump, and military capabilities to address such a situation.”
Pompeo explained that if China knew the US lacked the capacity to respond, or if US leaders were weak, they might test the waters. “We just don’t want to go there. It’s a terrible thing for the world, and by the way, it’s also bad for (Communist) China.”