Trump’s ‘America First’ Agenda Needs TSMC
US tech titans rely on the chipmaking powerhouse. They’re on the same team when it comes to countering Beijing.
The US needs TSMC.
Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images
It’s exceedingly rare that tech giants are also pillars of democracy; more often they’re on the opposite end of that spectrum. But for many people in Taiwan, the dominance of its chipmaking powerhouse Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is dubbed the “holy mountain” guarding the nation from the growing threat of a Chinese invasion.
TSMC is at the heart of this so-called silicon shield, or the idea that the island’s crucial position in the global semiconductor supply chain will deter a Beijing invasion. The political reality is more nuanced. As former TSMC chairman Mark Liu put it: “China will not invade Taiwan because of semiconductors. China will not not invade Taiwan because of semiconductors.”