The U.S. and Taiwan have reached a trade agreement to build chips and chip factories on American soil, the Department of Commerce announced Thursday.
As part of the agreement, Taiwanese chip and technology companies will invest at least $250 billion in production capacity in the U.S., and the Taiwanese government will guarantee $250 billion in credit for these companies.
In exchange, the U.S. will limit “reciprocal” tariffs on Taiwan to 15%, down from 20%, and commit to zero reciprocal tariffs on generic pharmaceuticals, their ingredients, aircraft components and some natural resources.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has bought land and could expand in Arizona as part of this deal, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in an interview Thursday.
“They just bought hundreds of acres adjacent to their property,” Lutnick said. “I’ll let them go through with their board and give them time.”
“Regarding TSMC’s plans, the market demand for our advanced technology is very strong, we continue to invest in Taiwan and expand overseas, all the investment decisions are based on market conditions and customer demands,” a TSMC spokesperson told CNBC.
The announcement added that future tariffs under the Section 232 framework will have some exceptions for companies that are building chips in the U.S. Taiwanese companies constructing new U.S. chip fabs — such as TSMC — will be able to import up to 2.5 times the amount of capacity they are building while the factories are under construction, without paying tariffs under the framework.
Taiwanese auto parts, lumber and related products will also avoid tariffs over 15% under Section 232, the announcement said.
When the factories are completed, companies will be able to import 1.5 times their U.S. production capacity, Commerce said.
The agreement provides clarity to chip companies and technology firms that have grappled with uncertainty during the past year over the Trump administration’s approach to tariffs in the semiconductor industry.
It also incentivizes TSMC, the world’s leading fab company, to continue to build more factories on U.S. soil, while making it clear that it can continue to manufacture chips for U.S. companies in Taiwan.
“As a semiconductor foundry serving customers worldwide, we welcome the prospect of robust trade agreements between the United States and Taiwan,” a TSMC representative said in a statement.
Lutnick said during the interview that Taiwan-based chip companies that don’t build in the U.S are likely to face a 100% tariff. He said that the government’s objective was to bring 40% of Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S.
“That’s what they get if they don’t build in America, the tariff’s likely to be 100%,” Lutnick said.
TSMC has already built fabs in Arizona, investing as much as $40 billion to produce chips for companies like Apple and Nvidia, using previous grants of U.S. government money under the CHIPS Act.
The U.S. government has prioritized American production of leading-edge chips as the struggle for access to artificial intelligence semiconductors has become a key geopolitical matter.
U.S. officials have also said that there is substantial risk to the U.S. economy if China invades Taiwan and reduces access to TSMC chips.
“We’re going to bring it all over so we become self-sufficient in the capacity of building semiconductors,” Lutnick said.
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