Is TSMC Becoming “US-SMC”? Why Half of Taiwan Is Worried — And Why Its Core Still Stays Home
Taiwan’s crown jewel of chipmaking keeps pouring money into US facilities, and that’s making people back home uneasy. A new poll cited by local media shows 50% of respondents are worried TSMC is turning into a US-focused foundry. Some experts even argue that, in practical terms, the shift is already underway—and that Washington’s broader strategy is reshaping the island’s semiconductor landscape.
The concern isn’t new. After investing hundreds of billions in the United States during the previous administration’s push to onshore critical tech, rumors swirled that the US government might even seek a stake in the company. For many in Taiwan, that sounded like TSMC inching away from its roots. One political science professor from a leading Taiwanese university noted that Washington’s goal has been clear: bring cutting-edge process nodes and advanced packaging closer to home. Without TSMC’s most advanced capabilities, Taiwan’s strategic value to the US could diminish sharply.
There’s also a powerful market logic driving this westward tilt. TSMC’s top-tier customers include NVIDIA, Apple, Broadcom, and AMD—US tech giants hungry for the newest nodes and advanced packaging. Recent trade policy has nudged Big Tech to align their supply chains with domestic manufacturing goals, making deeper US investments by TSMC feel less like a choice and more like a necessity.
Yet the heart of TSMC remains firmly in Taiwan. Core research and development on the most advanced nodes is done at home. Much of the company’s top talent is based there, and the “recipes” that define TSMC’s edge are developed locally. Crucially, the highest-end processes—like the N2 node—are slated for production in Taiwan rather than overseas. That means while TSMC is diversifying and expanding its global footprint, it’s still keeping its most sensitive technologies on home soil.
For Taiwan, the stakes are as much strategic as they are economic. The semiconductor industry underpins the island’s global influence, and TSMC sits at the center of that. The company’s expansion in the US is real and growing, but the crown jewels—cutting-edge R&D and top-node production—remain in Taiwan for now. The question is how far this balance will tilt as geopolitics and market forces continue to collide.
