Taiwan’s TSMC said its new facility in Arizona is unlikely to produce cutting-edge chips before facilities in Taiwan. The company’s CEO, CC Wei, said this was due to complex regulations, local building codes and multiple permitting processes. about this reports Reuters.
Construction of the Arizona facility took at least twice as long as a similar project in Taiwan, Wei said. He detailed the challenges the U.S. faces trying to rebuild its domestic chip manufacturing sector. “Every step requires permission, and once permission is obtained, the process takes at least twice as long as in Taiwan,” Wei said at the National Taiwan University event on Thursday. Therefore, he added, it would be difficult for TSMC to bring its cutting-edge technology to the US before Taiwan.
TSMC, a major high-tech chip manufacturer for companies such as Apple and Nvidia, invested $65 billion to establish three giant factories in Arizona. The company has previously said that most of its chip production, especially the most advanced ones, will remain in Taiwan.
Despite the problems and cost overruns, Wei expressed confidence that the Arizona factory will produce chips of the same quality as those in Taiwan and said he expects production to ramp up smoothly. But a shortage of skilled workers, supply chain issues and a lack of regulations to build chip facilities have further delayed the Arizona project, he said.
Wei also said that TSMC had to develop 18,000 internal rules, which cost the company $35 million. Additionally, chemical costs in the U.S. are five times higher than in Taiwan, forcing TSMC to ship sulfuric acid from Taiwan to Los Angeles and then by truck to Arizona. Labor shortages also created problems, and TSMC moved half of its construction workers from Texas to Arizona, increasing moving and living costs.
The US government is actively supporting this investment with a grant of $6.6 billion. The aim is to reduce geographical risks arising from the over-concentration of chip production in Asia, especially Taiwan.
“However, Wei’s statement questions the speed and effectiveness of this strategy. High-end chip production is likely to be concentrated in Taiwan, despite US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s announcement that Arizona will begin producing cutting-edge 4nm chips for US customers.
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Source: Gazeta

Jackson Ruhl is a tech and sci-fi expert, who writes for “Social Bites”. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of technology and science fiction.