Trump announces $100 billion investment in U.S. from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer TSMC

The CHIPS act gave $6.5 Billion subsidies to TSMC + $5 Billion in loans, not $65 Billion. $65 Billion was the supposed value of TMSC investments based on the CHIPS Act. So that means nearly $60 Billion of foreign investment came in.

You are correct about one thing, they are not the same. The 3 plants from the CHIPS act are already being built. So far, this additional $100B is just talk. Let’s see if they actually go beyond 3 plants. The baseline is 3 plants, regardless of whatever “total value investment” number they toss around. I think everyone agrees if we got even more business that would be a good thing. The impetus for all this was the shortages coming out of China and Tawaiin and a need to diversify sourcing which I’m pretty sure everyone agreed with, hence the Chips Act passing relatively easily.

 

That is so true.

But it’s sounding more and more like Intel’s cut of the CHIPS act was $$$ lit on fire (and that was always the risk). So getting TSMC to locate a certain volume of operation here may be the “least bad” thing. Hell, there’s long been rumors of Intel exiting the chip manufacturing business entirely (possibly selling to TSMC). Supposedly the CHIPS act precludes Intel from “selling out”, but I’m sure the smart corporate lawyers can figure workarounds (and with Trump admin enforcing it - or not - they probably don’t even need “smarts”).

 

No one in this thread has actually touched on what is happening here.

1. From just last month: TSMC is re-announcing the $100B investment it previously announced in 2021 under the Biden administration as a PR move and favor to Trump. In exchange DOGE-idiots are gutting all of the regulatory agencies to allow TSMC to dump toxic chemicals, among other things, on their site without fear of federal interference. Once they bribe off the local Republican party in AZ, they will once again move manufacturing forward at a much better pace.

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2. Apple lost $Millions during the supply chain shut-downs by the Chinese government and they realized then that solely depending on a dictatorial state for its manufacturing operations was a huge mistake. They have been driving their suppliers move outside of China. Now, TSMC is not in China....yet, but the Trump administration has already signaled that it is a bunch of cowards and will not only not stand up to dictators, but actually wishes to get into bed with them and emulate their practices. That effectively puts TSMC under control of the Chinese government basically out of business for the rest of the world. TSMC has been in a panic to establish manufacturing and parallel process R&D centers outside of China's sphere of influence in an effort to save their business when hell finally comes to Taiwan, even if that means cow-towing to another dictator wanne-be in the United States.

3. Additionally, by Apple driving their main processor supplier to announce fabs planned for the US, whether or not they are ever built, it is yet another "tribute" from Apple to Trump in the hopes of avoiding being caught up in the tariff war and getting a exemption, much like they did during the first administration.

Apple's suppliers have so far spent $16 billion to move from China

 

Yes, NOT THE SAME THING. $65 billion CHIPS Act was nothing more than another government boondoggle. Not at all the same.

 

I’ve personally talked to people in and around that industry who would 100% disagree with you.

 

How is that FoxConn plant in Wisconsin that Trump announced in 2017 working out? Last I heard they built one building, and it is providing 8% of the jobs Trump promised. Trump gave the Chinese 100s of millions of dollars for, that, too, BTW