TSMC Poised To Announce $100 Billion Investment In US Plants

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in chips plants in the US over the next four years, a move President Donald Trump is set to announce at the White House later Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

TSMC is the world's leader in production of advanced semiconductors used for artificial intelligence, and is the main chip manufacturing partner for Nvidia Corp. and Apple Inc. The investment would help bolster Trump's pledge to make the US dominant in AI. 

The company's chief executive officer, C.C. Wei, plans to be at the White House later Monday, TSMC said in a statement. “We're pleased to have an opportunity to meet with the President and look forward to discussing our shared vision for innovation and growth in the semiconductor industry,” the company said, without elaborating further on its investment plans.

The White House had no immediate comment. The person who described the plans did so on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. 

TSMC already has committed $65 billion in US investments for manufacturing facilities in Arizona. It's unclear whether the $100 billion would include that spending or be in addition to it. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on the investment announcement. 

TSMC's new investments will still need approval from Taiwan's government. Taiwanese officials have said they will prudently review outbound investments in advanced chip tech. A presidential spokesman did not answer calls outside of regular office hours.

Monday's announcement comes as Trump weighs tariffs against a wide range of industries — including semiconductors, lumber, autos and pharmaceuticals — to address what he sees as global trade imbalances that hurt the US. Levies on chips would hit hard in Taiwan, where nearly 90% of the world's most advanced wafers, especially those used in artificial intelligence, are made.

Tariff Threats

Trump has repeatedly accused Taiwan of “stealing” the US semiconductor industry and threatened tariffs on foreign-produced chips, as top US officials have consistently affirmed their commitment to boosting domestic manufacturing. That's particularly true for technologies at the heart of the US-China competition.

The president has expressed a preference for using tariffs to boost US chipmaking instead of government subsidies, the approach favored under former President Joe Biden, who pushed for passage of the Chips and Science Act to revive the domestic industry. That legislation, signed in 2022, led to TSMC winning $6.6 billion in grants to support three plants in Phoenix.

Trump administration officials have also approached TSMC about possibly taking a controlling stake in Intel Corp.'s factories, Bloomberg News reported previously. Those talks remain in the early stages but the move is aimed at addressing concerns about Intel's deteriorating financial state, which has forced it to slash jobs and curb global expansion plans.

During Trump's first term, his administration lured TSMC to the US partly out of national security concerns. When TSMC first announced its investments in an advanced plant in the US in 2020, Trump officials at the time said chips made by the Taiwanese chipmaker in Arizona would power everything from artificial intelligence to F-35 fighter jets.

The company's first facility in Arizona is up and running, and its early production yields have surpassed those at similar factories back home.