Washington: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is seeking to start construction of its third advanced wafer fab in the U.S. state of Arizona, hoping it will break ground on the facility by next week, a company official has said. In a forum held by the American think tank Hudson Institute in Washington on Friday, TSMC Vice President for global policy Peter Cleveland expressed the company's eagerness to commence the project. He stated, "We have not started to break ground on our third wafer fab in Phoenix. We would like to start next week."
According to Focus Taiwan, Cleveland added that the company needed assistance from the U.S. government, such as an environmental permit, to begin construction. He emphasized that while Taiwan remains the "home" for the contract chipmaker, the United States was an "ideal location" for the company to expand its global presence. TSMC's investments in Arizona aim to produce high-end chips, and Cleveland noted, "we're going to build those in Phoenix to sustain the U.S.'s AI leadership."
TSMC is already investing US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first fab in Arizona has started production using the 4-nanometer process, while the second fab, which will use the more sophisticated 3 nm, 2 nm, and A16 processes, is currently under construction and expected to begin production in 2028. The third fab is anticipated to start production by 2030, using 2 nm or more advanced processes, as announced by the company in April 2024.
On March 3, TSMC announced a commitment to invest an additional US$100 billion in Arizona over the next few years to build three more sophisticated wafer fabs, two IC assembly plants, and a research and development center, bringing its total investments in the U.S. state to US$165 billion. Cleveland acknowledged the challenges of production in the U.S., citing high labor costs but emphasized TSMC's "excellent" partnership with Washington. He mentioned a "good dialogue" with the U.S. Department of Commerce about structural issues, expressing optimism about collaboration and partnership with the Trump administration and Capitol Hill.
Commenting on the U.S. government's chip export controls against China, Cleveland stated that TSMC had good communications with the Trump administration regarding the complexity of the restrictions. He noted that the United States accounts for about 75 percent of TSMC's business, while its sales to China make up 10 percent. TSMC needs coordination from the U.S. government to ensure that its silicon gets sold and distributed in ways consistent with U.S. law, Cleveland said. Echoing the TSMC executive, Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding N.V.'s Jonathan Hoganson, who also attended the discussion, highlighted the need for clearly defined rules in the industry.