Article

2025-05-19 Science & Technology

The US factory that lays bare the contradiction in Trump's policy

[BBC] Among the cactuses in the desert of Arizona, just outside Phoenix, an extraordinary collection of buildings is emerging that will shape the future of the global economy and the world.

The hum of further construction is creating not just a factory for the world's most advanced semiconductors. Eventually, it will mass produce the most advanced chips in the world. This work is being done in the US for the first time, with the Taiwanese company behind it pledging to spend billions more here in a move aimed at heading off the threat of tariffs on imported chips.

It is, in my view, the most important factory in the world, and it's being built by a company you may not have heard of: TSMC, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. It makes 90% of the world's advanced semiconductors. Until now they were all made on the island of Taiwan, which is 100 miles east of the Chinese mainland. The Apple chip in your iPhone, the Nvidia chips powering your ChatGPT queries, the chips in your laptop or computer network, all are made by TSMC.

Its Arizona facility "Fab 21" is closely guarded. Blank paper or personal devices are not allowed in case designs are leaked. It houses some of the most important intellectual property in the world, and the process to make these chips is one of the most complicated and intensive in global manufacturing.

Posted by Skidmark 2025-05-19 00:45|| || Front Page|| [142 views ] Top

#1 Author is a tool; here is his tldr conclusion:

Trump wants TSMC Arizona to become a foundation stone for his American golden age. But the company's story to date is perhaps the ultimate expression of the success of modern globalization.

Posted by mossomo 2025-05-19 13:02|| 2025-05-19 13:02|| Front Page Top

#2 TSMC was originally to be built here to protect the intellectual property and physical asset against the increasingly likely invasion of Taiwan by Communist China. The financial advantages of manufacturing in America under the new Trump rules only came years later.

But one does understand why the BBC might not want to notice that all sorts of people and businesses see America as the ultimate haven. The tale is America, however imperfect, benefitting because she’s a light in the darkness.

Posted by trailing wife 2025-05-19 14:50|| 2025-05-19 14:50|| Front Page Top

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