'Serious questions' over security and how it would help supply chain

The Register
Date: 20 May 2020
By: Matthew Hughes

The construction of a $12bn semiconductor factory in Arizona owned and operated by TSMC has prompted a group of Democrat senators to probe whether the Taiwanese giant was lured with the promise of financial incentives.

In a letter [PDF] issued to US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and defense secretary Mark Esper, senators Jack Reed, Patrick Leahy and Chuck Schumer acknowledged the importance of returning semiconductor manufacturing to the US, but urged President Donald Trump's administration to cease negotiations until it can disclose what subsidies or tax breaks it's prepared to offer.

"We have serious questions as to how this project takes into consideration national security requirements and how it aligns with a broader strategy for building a diverse U.S. semiconductor manufacturing supply chain," the letter explained.

The senators also raised concerns that this investment from TSMC – which produces chips for the likes of Qualcomm, AMD, and Nvidia, as well as current Trump administration bête noire Huawei – represents a mere drop in the bucket, and doesn't constitute a coherent plan to address America's economic and national security needs.

The Huawei and TSMC trading relationship might not be an factor for the US administration for much longer, however, if reports in the Nikkei Asia Review are to be believed. A source told the paper days ago that TSMC has halted new Huawei orders to "fully comply with the latest export control regulation".    [FULL  STORY]