No chips engraved in 2 nm for its American factories, announces TSMC
Trump or no Trump, there will be no 2nm chip production in the United States – at least for now, as Economic Affairs Minister JW Kuo declared yesterday. “Since Taiwan has regulations in place to protect its domestic technology, TSMC cannot produce 2nm chips overseas at this time.“, specifies Kuo in comments reported by the site Taipei Times.
We will therefore have to wait for the start-up of the second TSMC foundry in the state of Arizona in 2028 to see the first 2 nm chips produced in North America, the first of which will launch the production of 4 nm chips on next month. Taiwanese regulations cited by Kuo prevent local semiconductor makers from making lower-generation technology chips at a minimum.
This statement comes days after the latest report on negotiations between TSMC and Global Foundries Inc., the number 2 international semiconductor foundry, over the provision of $6 billion in subsidies for the development of factories across the United States and almost as many in loans for the construction of foundries in Arizona and New York State. At the same time, the Biden administration is working hard to pass the Chips and Science Act, a bill signed in August 2022 which provides $52 million in subsidies for development and research in the semiconductor industry in the USA.
The re-election of Donald Trump, who will become the 47th President of the United States in January 2025, is shaking up the agenda of American industrialists, worried about a sudden axing of the Chips & Science Act. Trump did not hide his disavowal of the project pushed by the Democratic wing, pointing out its total cost of $290 billion. In a similar vein, the Republican also promised a 10% increase in import tariffs on products from abroad – but Cliff Hou, president of the TSIA (Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association), remains calm about the situation: “The bilateral relationship has not changed because of the changing political horizons in the United States.” He nevertheless reiterates the importance of unfailing competitiveness for Taiwanese industry, suggesting “an acceleration of research and development to secure our position as an indispensable member of the global semiconductor supply chain“. Of which act.
