By Alan Patterson, EETimes (May 19, 2020)
TAIPEI – The announcement by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) last week to build a fab in the United States was very likely motivated by a number of political factors, according to people with knowledge of the matter. It’s a move that could haunt TSMC and its future.
On May 15, the company announced it will build a 5nm fab in the U.S. state of Arizona with support from that state and the U.S. federal government. Hours after the TSMC news broke, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced new restrictions on TSMC’s second-largest customer, HiSilicon of China. People say the two events were related to the issue of U.S. export control.