At its Q2 earnings conference, TSMC recently announced another US$100 billion in investment in the United States, bringing its total investment commitment to US$265 billion. These massive investments have once again fueled concerns that TSMC is becoming “ASMC” (America Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) and that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is being relocated abroad. Although these concerns are not entirely unfounded, assessing Taiwan’s gains and losses solely by investment amounts and the number of new plants risks overlooking the broader economic, trade, and industrial implications.
U.S. Investment Does Not Mean Industrial Hollowing Out: The Key is Safeguarding Taiwan’s R&D and Supply Chain Edge
Hsien-Ming Lien, President of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER), said the additional US$100 billion investment would first help Taiwan fulfill its investment commitments to the United States. Including this latest amount, TSMC has committed US$200 billion in U.S. investment during the Trump administration. Other Taiwanese companies have pledged another US$30 billion, bringing the total close to the US$250 billion corporate investment target under the Taiwan-U.S. trade agreement. Taiwan could therefore be regarded as a model partner among countries that have signed trade agreements with the United States. To some extent, TSMC’s global expansion has shouldered a substantial share of Taiwan’s economic and trade commitments.
Second, the additional investment has no clearly defined deadline. Semiconductor plants naturally require years to move from site selection and construction to equipment installation and mass production. Without a specific time limit, TSMC can gradually adjust the pace of investment based on AI demand, customer orders, operating efficiency, and global economic conditions. The most important objective is to achieve the company’s global expansion strategy.
Third, and most importantly, increased investment in the United States does not mean reduced investment in Taiwan. TSMC currently has 18 facilities under construction or undergoing equipment installation, including 12 advanced-process wafer fabrication plants and six advanced packaging facilities. Of the wafer fabrication plants now under construction, only two are overseas, while the other 10 are being built in Taiwan. This shows that as TSMC responds to AI-driven semiconductor demand, it continues to use Taiwan as the primary base for expanding the industry. Overseas plant construction clearly does not equate to domestic industrial hollowing-out.
AI Exports Drive Up U.S. Trade Surplus; Taiwan Should Proactively Explain Global Supply Chain Division of Labor
Lien believes that, by comparison, Taiwan should be more concerned about two other issues.
The first is Taiwan’s rapidly widening trade surplus with the United States over the past two years. Driven by growing exports of AI servers, semiconductors, and information and communications technology products, Taiwan’s trade surplus with the United States could exceed US$200 billion this year. With the United States holding midterm elections in the second half of the year, manufacturing reshoring and trade imbalances could once again become major issues. The government should prepare in advance.
To ease pressure on Taiwan, the government should also systematically explain the division of labor within global supply chains to the United States. South Korea, for example, recorded a US$37 billion trade surplus with Taiwan last year due to AI memory products. Taiwan should not allow its entire trade surplus to be simplistically portrayed as evidence that it is taking advantage of the United States.
The second concern is Samsung Electronics’ renewed competitive strength. The AI boom has benefited not only TSMC but also the recovering memory market. In its Q2 financial results this year, Samsung reported quarterly earnings exceeding US$60 billion and operating profit nearly three times that of TSMC.
AI Memory Generates Cash Flow for Samsung, Putting Taiwan on Alert for the Next Wave of Semiconductor Competition
Lien indicated that Samsung’s foundry business had underperformed in the past. When the memory market was weak, the company also lacked the financial capacity to invest heavily in its foundry operations. With the memory business now generating substantial cash flow, Samsung is better positioned to continue subsidizing its comparatively weaker foundry division.
Rather than worrying about TSMC building several more plants in the United States, Taiwan should focus on managing its growing trade surplus and preparing for the next wave of competition from Samsung and other rivals.
Source: Hsien-Ming Lien (September 2, 2026). Don’t Just Worry About “ASMC”: the U.S. Trade Surplus and Samsung Demand Closer Attention. Commercial Times. https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20260902000236-260210