Well, well, well, if at first it seemed like a bad idea to raise customs duties like a madman on products imported on a massive scale, such as semi-conductors… In retrospect, the gamble seems to have paid off! Indeed, according to a McKinsey report, the United States has captured 90% of foreign direct investment in this sector… Precisely, following the threat of customs duties on this type of product!
Trump’s semiconductor policy bears fruit!
The American president’s speech was very clear: “Either you invest to produce in the US, or you’ll be taxed”. In fact, D. Trump announced very substantial customs duties on TSMC, promising to raise them by 100%. But it has to be said that the Americans also carry a lot of weight in the negotiations, since the USA represents one of the world’s biggest markets, along with China. This inevitably complicates the balance of power, and it’s easy to see why the big companies don’t want to cut themselves off from the USA.
Consequently, TSMC is investing heavily in the US to set up a genuine supply chain. What’s more, the company is already mass-producing 4 nm chips, while plans for 1.6 nm production are also on the table. But all in all, if the company produces 4 nm in America, the final chip assembly (for NVIDIA at least) must take place in Taiwan!
At the same time, Samsung’s investment plans, which have been delayed (or deliberately slowed down?) since Biden’s CHIPS Act grant, seem to be back on track. The Taylor plant is progressing towards 2nm production, and Tesla has placed some major orders. In short, things are looking pretty good.
Finally, Trump’s gamble seems to be paying off, with convincing results.
