Taiwan’s TSMC Founder Meets Kamala Harris to Talk Microchips

 

Taiwan’s TSMC founder Morris Chang met with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to discuss microchips.

The two representatives met for a private meeting on the summit sidelines, discussing TSMC’s new $12 billion microchip plant in the US state of Arizona.

Chang said he told Harris that Taiwan had already invited U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to a “tool-in” ceremony for the plant on Dec. 6, though production is not starting immediately.

Chang, now retired from TSMC, remains influential as the elder statesman of Taiwan’s chip industry.

Chip Leadership

At last year’s virtual APEC summit, Chang appeared to criticise the United States and China over their efforts to become self-sufficient at making semiconductors, saying this would drive up costs and limit technological advances.

The cost of making chips in the US was higher than Taiwan by at least 50%, he said, but this did not “exclude” shifting some production to the United States, Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier.

TSMC is also building a plant in Japan, another APEC member, and Chang hinted other countries were in consideration.

“TSMC could be considering other places also, but I will not talk about any details now.”

• Reuters, with additional editing from Alfie Habershon

 

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