Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told visiting U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) he supports the investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) has made in Arizona and looks forward to more, according to Reuters.
“We look forward to even more semiconductor manufacturing, research and development facilities springing up in the greater Phoenix area,” Ching-te said, according to the report. “This will continue to strengthen Taiwan-U.S. relations.”
TSM has already committed to investing $165B in facilities located around the Arizona capital, the report said. U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for more semiconductor manufacturing operations within the U.S. and reached a deal with Taiwan last week to reduce export tariffs from Taiwan to a maximum of 15% from 20%.
Taiwanese companies plan to invest a total of at least $250B to “build and expand advanced semiconductor, energy, and artificial intelligence production and innovation capacity in the United States,” according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Taiwan is also expected to provide credit guarantees of at least $250B to facilitate additional investment in the expansion of the semiconductor supply chain in the U.S.