Since the administration of President Donald Trump, the trend of American nationalism has intensified, and amidst this backdrop, the world's largest foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has announced a large-scale investment plan in the U.S. Attention is drawn to whether domestic semiconductor corporations, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, will adopt similar strategies to TSMC.
TSMC Chairman Wei Zhang announced on 3rd (local time) that he plans to invest $100 billion (approximately 145.9 trillion won) in the U.S. Earlier, TSMC announced plans to build a semiconductor factory in Arizona, investing $12 billion, and expanded the investment amount to $65 billion. With the announcement of this new investment plan, the total investment amount has increased to $165 billion.
In response to TSMC's investment plan announcement, President Trump said, "The most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors will be made right here in the United States, and a significant portion will be produced by TSMC," and added, "This is not just an economic security issue, but a national security issue."
Analysis suggests that TSMC's expansion of local investments in the U.S. is related to Trump's tariff policies. Recently, President Trump hinted that he would impose at least a 25% tariff on semiconductors entering the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik also noted regarding TSMC's new investment in the U.S., "They came to the U.S. because they can avoid tariffs."
The U.S. is home to many big tech companies that are major customers of TSMC. If high tariffs are imposed on semiconductors exported to the U.S., the price competitiveness would inevitably decrease, leading them to opt for strengthening local production capabilities.
As TSMC becomes the first in the global semiconductor sector to announce a large-scale investment plan since the start of Trump's second administration, it is expected that the concerns of domestic semiconductor corporations investing in the U.S., such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, will deepen. Samsung Electronics plans to invest over $37 billion (approximately 54 trillion won) in constructing a semiconductor production base in the U.S., while SK hynix has decided to invest $3.87 billion (approximately 5.6 trillion won).
Samsung Electronics is building a foundry plant in Taylor, Texas, aiming to start operations next year. SK hynix plans to build a semiconductor packaging production base in West Lafayette, Indiana, and enter full-scale production in 2028.