( Observer Network ) TSMC, which has voluntarily handed over confidential information and built factories in the United States because it was "hot-supported" by some American politicians, is now not a human being inside and outside. The cost is high, and whether it can get subsidies from the US government is still a mystery. Many people on the island are not optimistic about its prospects.
Previously, TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou had no choice but to lament that this move was "expensive, wasteful, and wasted" again. Recently, former DPP legislator Guo Zhengliang also denounced that TSMC's construction of a factory in the United States "is not to encircle the mainland, but to hollow out Taiwan."
Comprehensive Taiwan media reports that in October last year, TSMC was exposed to building a factory in Arizona, the United States. As one of the production bases of 5nm chips, it is expected to start mass production in 2024, with a monthly production capacity of 20,000 pieces, and the investment from 2021 to 2029 will reach about US$12 billion. However, due to the serious shortage of civil engineering and power systems in the United States, TSMC not only has a significant increase in factory construction costs, but also has lagged behind expectations.
At that time, in the face of external doubts, TSMC Chairman Liu Deyin admitted that building a factory in the United States was due to "political drive" and "the cost was far higher than TSMC's expectations."
On the 22nd of this month, TSMC founder Zhang Zhongmou also said in an exclusive interview with US media that TSMC went to the United States to set up a new factory was the result of the urging of the US government. He had retired at that time and the decision was made by Liu Deyin, the current chairman of TSMC. He bluntly stated that the cost of producing chip in the United States is too high, and it is difficult to compete internationally, which is expensive and futile.
24, the political commentary program of "International Straight Ball Showdown" under Zhongtian News said that the United States has imposed a large sanctions on Russia, causing serious inflation in its own country. Last week, a White House adviser proposed that the United States should reduce tariffs on a series of non-strategic Chinese goods such as bicycles and clothing to help curb inflation. The host believes that the "strategic commodity" that the White House did not mention is chips, and TSMC went to the United States to build factories is the United States' "encirclement of the mainland".
Former "legislator" Guo Zhengliang immediately took over the conversation, "This is not 'encirclement of the mainland', it is hollowing out Taiwan."
He said that no one in the United States is willing to work overtime. Early wafer processing talents were all in the United States. Why moved to Taiwan and South Korea must be based on the results of comparative interests. Now that I have to return to the United States, it is not only difficult to work overtime, but also to train talents in Taiwan.
Guo Zhengliang mentioned that he heard that TSMC proposed a so-called talent recruitment plan, allowing Americans to go to Taiwan for training for 6 to 10 months. (If) Americans feel that their lives have changed too much, they may be recruited in Taiwan in the end. Hasn’t Taiwan’s semiconductor industry become an American talent training center? In this way, if the cost cannot be suppressed, it will not be competitive internationally. Even if the products are manufactured in the US factory, how can they compete with TSMC in Taiwan? Will the government need subsidies? This is not actually possible.
Guo Zhengliang believes that even if Zhang Zhongmou evaluates this matter, he must tell the United States that everything must follow the logic of market economy , and must be done with force, especially for such a large-scale industry, it is difficult to succeed. Biden is on the string, not to mention Intel is a bottleneck, saying that it cannot subsidize manufacturers outside the United States. "I asked Taiwan and South Korea to invest in the United States, but I still don't provide subsidies. That's all."
Previously, Taiwan United News Network issued a document pointing out that the supply of US chips was in urgent need of the past two years, so it used diplomatic pressure to force TSMC to set up factories in the United States. At the end of last year, the US Department of Commerce even asked TSMC and Samsung to hand over confidential information such as customer lists, which was equivalent to asking TSMC to hand over their necks to others. However, Wang Meihua, the head of the economic department on the island, not only did not help TSMC fight, but also defended the United States that it was "voluntary" and would be left to companies for their own considerations.
Now, the United States has achieved its goal of "inviting you into the trap", so it has begun to spend money to subsidize and support local American companies.For TSMC, Arizona's factory has also begun to be built and commercial secrets have been handed over; now the United States only subsidizes local enterprises, and can also use confidential information to deal with it. TSMC faces unfair competition. "The Tsai government forces TSMC to set up a factory in the United States, and allows the United States to trick its business secrets. Is it worthy of Taiwan?"
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