London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Sep 05, 2026

Biden to visit Taiwan's TSMC chip plant in Arizona, hail supply chain fixes

Biden to visit Taiwan's TSMC chip plant in Arizona, hail supply chain fixes

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC (2330.TW) on Tuesday said it would more than triple its planned investment at its new Arizona plant to $40 billion, among the largest foreign investments in U.S. history, as President Joe Biden visited and hailed the project.
The expanded investment is a big win for Biden after supply chain issues disrupted the U.S. economy early in his presidency.

"American manufacturing is back, folks," Biden said in a speech against the backdrop of the new factory draped with an American flag and a large banner reading "A Future Made in America Phoenix, AZ."

Biden's recent trip to Asia convinced him the United States is in a better position to lead the world economy in the years ahead "if we keep our focus," he said.

Mark Liu, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, known as TSMC, estimated annual revenue of $10 billion when the two planned chip fabrication plants open, adding that customers would have annual sales of $40 billion from products using chips made there.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O), all major TSMC customers, said they expected their chips to be made in the new plants.

"We work with TSMC to manufacture the chips that help power our products all over the world. And we look forward to expanding this work in the years to come as TSMC forms new and deeper roots in America," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a speech.

Also joining Biden at the facility's opening ceremony was TSMC founder Morris Chang, chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, among others.

The plant, scheduled to be operational in 2024, will make a more advanced chip than initially announced.

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares were flat in early trade on Wednesday following the announcement, tracking the broader market (.TWII).

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, is a leading supplier to major U.S. hardware manufacturers. Its $40 billion funding for the two facilities is the company's largest investment outside of Taiwan.

"Bringing TSMC's investment to the United States is a masterstroke and a game-changing development for the industry," Nvidia's Huang said in remarks prepared for Tuesday's event.

TSMC's expanded investment in Arizona is the latest in a string of major investments announced by chipmakers since the CHIPS and Science Act passed this summer. These include International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and Wolfspeed Inc (WOLF.N).

TSMC said it would build a second facility nearby to produce so-called "3 nanometer" chips by 2026, the most advanced currently in production.

TSMC also said it was planning to build an industrial water reclamation plant. Chip making is a water-intensive process, and Arizona, which is largely desert, is increasingly struggling with water shortages.

TSMC's Liu said its Phoenix factories are expected to create 13,000 high-tech jobs, including 4,500 under TSMC and the rest filled by suppliers.

Biden has sought to boost semiconductor production after the pandemic caused supply chain problems that led to shortages of chips for vehicles and many other items.

U.S. semiconductor production accounts for just 12% of the global total, down from 37% two decades ago, said a White House report on supply chain problems last year.

Taiwan's dominant position as a maker of chips used in technology from cellphones and cars to fighter jets has sparked concerns of over-reliance on the island, especially as China ramps up military pressure to assert its sovereignty claims.

China claims Taiwan as its territory but the democratically elected government in Taipei rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

The $52.7 billion Chips and Science Act, signed into law by Biden in August, is aimed at preventing a resurgence of supply chain woes.

Biden's trip to Arizona marks "a significant milestone that TSMC is reaching in bringing the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S.," said Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council.

Biden's victory in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election helped catapult him to the White House. Republican Donald Trump had won the state in 2016.

Biden has said he intends to seek a second four-year term in 2024.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Urges Households to Keep Emergency Supplies Amid Severe El Niño Warning
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Sets Out Regional Industry and Prison Reform Agenda
Siemens Energy Wins Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor Manufacturing Contract
UK Mortgage Costs Rise as Gilt Yields and Swap Rates Climb
Bank of England’s Huw Pill Calls for Prompt Rate Rise as Inflation Risks Persist
National Audit Office Warns UK Is Unprepared for Major Food Supply Disruptions
British Army Suspends Some Training Exercises as Budget Pressures Intensify
HMS Queen Elizabeth Deploys as NATO Allied Response Force Command Ship
Reform UK Suspends Two Senior Officials Over Alleged Foreign Donation Scheme
UK Reasserts Falkland Islands Sovereignty After Argentina Threatens Sanctions
Scottish Tech Company PureLifi Enters Administration With More Than 40 Job Losses
Scottish Government Names Alyn Smith Innovation and Education Minister
Green Party Co-Leader Zack Polanski to Contest By-Election for Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Palestine Action Activists Appeal Terrorism-Related Prison Sentences
PwC Report Highlights Persistent Regional Spending-Power Divide Across Britain
UK Names Hundreds of Employers for Minimum Wage Violations
UK Commits £400 Million to International Tropical Forest Fund
UK Extends £2 Bus Fare Cap Across England Through 2027
UK Warns Travellers as US-Iran Tensions Disrupt Middle East Security and Shipping
Andy Burnham Faces Kemi Badenoch in First Prime Minister’s Questions
Kemi Badenoch Names Andrew Griffith Shadow Chancellor in Conservative Reshuffle
UK Treasury and Markets Focus on Fiscal Headroom Ahead of Autumn Budget
UK Government Reverses Early Release Plans for Serious Violent and Sexual Offences
UK and France Review Border Cooperation After 48,000 Small-Boat Crossings Prevented
UK Growth Outlook Weakens as Inflation and Energy Costs Rise
Breeding Tropical Mosquitoes Discovered in East London
Sadiq Khan Agrees to Search of Digital Communications in Palantir Lawsuit
Scottish Protesters Call for Moratorium on AI Data Centre Expansion
Uber Drivers Bring London Class Action Over Algorithmic Management
Reform UK Accepts £4 Million Donation From Cryptocurrency Billionaire Pardoned by Trump
Justice Secretary Tightens Early Release Scheme to Exclude Manslaughter Offenders
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Team as Reform UK Pressure Grows
British Mortgage Rates Rise as Global Bond Sell-Off Pushes Up Borrowing Costs
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record in 2026
UK Government Urges Households to Stock Essential Supplies Ahead of Severe El Niño Risk
UK Prepares Targeted Sanctions Over Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Reform UK Faces Electoral and Police Scrutiny Over Foreign Donation Allegations
UK and France Expand Channel Migration Cooperation as Trade Tensions Surface
UK Marks Merchant Navy Day With Tribute to Civilian Seafarers
Burnham Pays Tribute to Two Police Officers Killed on Duty in Northern England
Booking.com Left Fake Downing Street Listing Online for Two Months, Which Says
Burnham and Macron to Review UK-France Cooperation on Channel Crossings
UK Business Confidence Improves Slightly but Investment Concerns Persist
Burnham Faces Pressure Over Future North Sea Oil and Gas Licences
Burnham Pushes Wider English Devolution Through ‘Number Ten North’
British Chambers of Commerce Raises 2026 UK Growth Forecast to 1%
Keir Starmer Resigns as Holborn and St Pancras MP, Triggering By-Election
UK Chancellor Faces Tighter Budget Headroom as Long-Term Borrowing Costs Rise
UK Government Weighs Thames Water Nationalisation as Financial Crisis Deepens
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces First Commons Questions Over Tax and Spending Plans
×