The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has declared that the idea of building a factory in Europe was no longer part of his short-term plans. An announcement that goes badly with the authorities of the European Union.
The European Union will have to do without TSMC
Six months ago, TSMC was in discussion with Germany to set up a factory there. Mark Liu, president of the Taiwanese manufacturer, wanted to evaluate the possibility of setting up manufacturing operations in Germany. At the end of 2021, the Taiwanese giant had declared that this decision would depend on government subsidies, customer demand and local talent. Today, the talks are probably at a standstill.
The United States’ strategy to democratize the use of electric vehicles
Last week, Taiwan and the European Union held talks about possible chip cooperation. While the Old Continent is cruelly suffering from the global shortage of semiconductors, TSMC changed its mind and will certainly not contribute to the development of industry in Europe. The European Union really counted on the contribution of TSMC.
In February 2022, the Commission unveiled a 43 billion euro plan to develop semiconductor manufacturing, mentioning Taiwan as one of the “like-minded partners she would like to work with”. The quantified objective of this project is to double the market share of semiconductor production in Europe. It is currently around 10%, it should increase to 20% by 2030.
The Taiwanese giant is focusing on its development in the United States
TSMC is the world’s largest chipmaker. The Taiwanese giant has planned to establish itself in the United States. Six factories could see the light of day in the next few years. A factory near Phoenix, in which it has invested 12 billion dollars and which should start operating in 2024. Arizona should also host at least five additional factories, dedicated to the production of semiconductors.
Regarding a possible establishment in Europe, Mark Liu said that, “this is an area of the world where we have relatively fewer customers, but we are still evaluating and still do not have concrete plans”. another phenomenon may have worked against setting up in Europe : according to the boss of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the costs for the development of its six factories in the United States are higher than expected. He is pointing out that “we will deal with this problem”.