Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry semiconductor corporation, may face a potential 'antitrust investigation' by the United States if it does not cooperate with the American semiconductor corporation Intel, according to Taiwanese media reports on the 19th.
According to sources cited by China Times, if the U.S. authorities' 'rescue Intel' plan does not proceed as expected, pressure on Taiwan's TSMC will increase. The sources noted that it is highly likely that the U.S. will use the potential antitrust investigation as a bargaining tool.
Kuo Ming-Chi, an analyst at Taiwan's TF International Securities, explained that U.S. President Donald Trump aims to strengthen the advanced manufacturing process technology of the U.S., which falls behind Taiwan. He added that if Samsung Electronics does not improve the quality and yield of its advanced processes, it will face difficulties in securing orders due to cooperation between TSMC and the U.S.
He also pointed out that Broadcom's participation, which shows interest in acquiring Intel's institutional sector, may be challenging. This official mentioned that after Broadcom, originally a U.S. corporation, was acquired by Singapore's Avago in 2016, there were concerns about Qualcomm's semiconductor technology potentially transferring to China through Broadcom.
Previously, in 2018, when Broadcom attempted to acquire Qualcomm, President Trump issued an executive order prohibiting the acquisition due to national security threats, resulting in the deal's collapse. At that time, Broadcom's headquarters was in Singapore, but after the failed acquisition of Qualcomm, it moved its headquarters to San Jose, California, and has since become a U.S. corporation.