Trump, TSMC Announce Additional $100 Billion Investment in U.S. Semiconductor Expansion
On March 3, U.S. President Donald Trump and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Chairman C.C. Wei jointly announced that the company will invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the United States.
“The most powerful AI chips in the world will be made right here in America and it’ll be a big percentage of the chips made by this company (TSMC),” Trump said at the White House.
TSMC Chairman Wei stated that the US$100 billion investment will fund the construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center.
This investment is in addition to the US$65 billion TSMC has already committed to invest in three foundries, one of which has begun operations.
TSMC’s total investment in the U.S. is expected to reach US$165 billion, solidifying this project as the largest single foreign direct investment in U.S. history.
Following Trump and Wei’s announcement at the White House, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene, the U.S. de facto ambassador to Taiwan, stated on March 4 that “the United States and Taiwan are mutually complementary economies that benefit greatly from investments in both directions, especially in the semiconductor sector.”
The expanded TSMC investment in America “strengthens the economic prosperity and security of both the United States and Taiwan and will enable TSMC to better serve its largest customers in America,” Greene added.
On March 6, TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei joined Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te for a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Wei emphasized that TSMC’s continued development and plans in Taiwan, including the establishment of 11 production lines this year, will remain affected. He stressed that TSMC’s expansions, whether in the U.S., Japan, or Germany, have always been driven by client demand, noting that demand in Taiwan’s market also continues to grow.
Meanwhile, President Lai stated that the Trump administration continues to emphasize the importance of cross-Taiwan Strait peace and stability as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community, citing a joint statement between the U.S. and Japan issued in February.
Lai called TSMC’s investment announcement at the White House “a historic moment in Taiwan-U.S. relations,” adding that the Taiwanese government will continue to support the company as it seeks to expand at home and abroad.
References:
[1] The White House
[2] Focus Taiwan
[3] Taipei Times
[4] Focus Taiwan
[5] Taipei Times
Colby, Trump’s Pick to Lead Pentagon Policy, Warns Taiwan’s Fall Would Be “A Disaster” for the U.S.
Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests,” and Taiwan needs to raise its defense spending to deter a war with China, Elbridge Colby, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, said during his Senate confirmation hearing before the Armed Services Committee on March 4.
Colby, a China hawk who previously served in the Pentagon in President Trump’s first term, said the U.S. must motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and expressed that he is “profoundly disturbed” by Taiwan’s perceived reluctance to increase defense spending closer to 10 percent of its GDP.
“Taiwan’s fall [to China] would be a disaster for American interests,” Colby said, stressing that he aimed to highlight the fact that the military balance vis-à-vis China from Taiwan’s perspective has “deteriorated dramatically.”
“What I have been trying to do is shoot a signal flare that it is vital to enable U.S. forces for an ‘effective and reasonable’ defense of Taiwan, and for the Taiwanese and Japanese to do more,” he added.
Colby noted that Taiwan’s current level of defense spending is “well below 3 percent” of its GDP and therefore far too low.
“They should be more like 10 percent, or at least something in that ballpark, really focused on their defense,” he said.
Over the past eight years under Taiwan’s former President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s defense budgets were increased incrementally and significantly from NT$365.8 billion (US$11.16 billion) in 2016 to NT$606.8 billion in 2024. However, the spending still fell short of the 3 percent of GDP pledged by Tsai.
Taiwan’s Cabinet had initially earmarked NT$647 billion (US$19.7 billion) for defense spending in 2025, equivalent to 2.45 percent of GDP. However, NT$8.4 billion was later cut, and an additional NT$90 billion was frozen by the opposition-controlled Legislature.
Last month, in February 2025, Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te pledged to propose a special budget to raise this year’s military spending to 3 percent of GDP, aiming to demonstrate Taiwan’s commitment to its self-defense.
However, during Colby’s Senate confirmation hearing on March 4, concerns were raised over Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan’s defense budget cuts and freezes, led by the main opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT), which U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) criticized as “playing a dangerous game.”
“If anyone from Taiwan is watching this hearing, they [the KMT] need . . . to realize they’re playing a dangerous game. Cutting defense spending right now is not the right signal,” Sullivan said.
Colby noted that the defense budget cuts had already become a point of discussion among both Democrats and Republicans.
He said he would continue urging Taiwan to increase its defense spending to demonstrate its commitment to defending itself against a Chinese invasion.
Colby reiterated his views that the U.S.’s primary goal should be “denying China regional hegemony” and that U.S. military power must be focused overwhelmingly on countering China.
If confirmed as undersecretary of defense for policy, Colby said he would provide the U.S. president and the secretary of defense with “the best military options to back up the policy of deterring and, if necessary, denying an attack on Taiwan at a reasonable level of cost and risk for the American people.”
References:
[1] Taipei Times
[2] Focus Taiwan
[3] Taipei Times
[4] Focus Taiwan
Sens. Blackburn and Schatz Introduce Bill to Boost U.S.-Taiwan Travel and Economic Partnership
On February 25, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Taiwan Travel and Tourism Coordination Act to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan bilateral travel and economic cooperation.
The bill aims to “keep Americans safer by establishing robust security screenings for those traveling to the U.S. from Asia, open new markets for American industry, and strengthen the economic partnership between the U.S. and Taiwan,” according to a statement.
“Travel and tourism play a crucial role in a nation’s economic security,” it added, but Taiwan faces pressure and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in this sector.
Since Taiwan is the U.S.’ “vital trading partner and ally in the Indo-Pacific region” and faces increasing threats from the CCP, the U.S. must “assist our allies in stabilizing their economies and growing their national industries,” the statement noted.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn warned that Communist China not only threatens Taiwan but also poses “a clear threat to U.S. interests” through its campaign for global dominance.
She underscored the need to secure the U.S. homeland, stating that the Taiwan Travel and Tourism Coordination Act would assist in “achieving enhanced security at foreign airports,” as the bill requires the federal government to study the feasibility of establishing a “pre-clearance” facility in Taiwan.
Pre-clearance is “the strategic stationing of [U.S.] Customs and Border Protection personnel at designated foreign airports to inspect travelers prior to boarding U.S.-bound flights,” the statement explained, adding that the measure would “enhance security, increase collaboration, and streamline travel.”
The statement also noted that no pre-clearance facility currently exists in Asia, despite “an annual average of over 4 million travelers from the continent.”
