In the ongoing conversation about the possibility of the Trump administration’s tariffs on TSMC’s semiconductors, experts around the world are analyzing the ways in which the company could respond. While current speculation ranges from expanding investment in the U.S. market all the way to taking over Intel’s chip factory, experts point out that the company will need to carefully consider its options to maintain control over valuable trade secrets and steer clear of antitrust action.
Industry professionals and analysts are expecting the Trump administration to attempt to regain control of the chip industry in the United States, under the justification that it has been “losing business” to Taiwan. There are also rumors of the possibility that outside companies such as TSMC, Qualcomm, or Broadcom could be called upon to take over Intel in the face of its continued poor performance.
Taiwan Economic Research Institute Director Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真) pointed out that most suggested responses, including expanding U.S. market investment and abolishing subsidies, are relatively low-risk for TSMC as they can pass on the cost to consumers.
The exception would be if the company were asked to acquire Intel, Liu said, which introduces a few challenges, such as the possibility of trade secrets being leaked, or the introduction of antitrust action against TSMC. On that note, experts still doubt whether the Trump administration’s “America First” politics would allow for a foreign company to take over Intel in the first place. All of this also fails to take into account the effort it would take to transform Intel’s wafer factories, whose technology and processes differ greatly from TSMC’s.
All in all, Liu pointed out that among all the options open to the company, acquiring and rescuing Intel would compromise TSMC’s operating independence in the U.S., and pose a risk to their competitiveness. It seems to pose a greater risk to Taiwan’s chip business as a whole, even if the company is acquired by other U.S. companies Qualcomm or Broadcom, TSMC will need to carefully consider their next steps to avoid lowering their own competitiveness in a market brimming with companies vying for the crown.