Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) said it plans to build a $12 billion factory in Arizona.
Over 1,600 jobs will be created by the factory.
The plan comes as US President Donald Trump steps up criticism of Chinese trade practices and Beijing’s handling of the novel coronavirus ahead of the November 3 US presidential election.
Donald Trump has promised to bring manufacturing back from overseas. Now, a steep economic slump caused by the coronavirus is driving a government push to end the dependency of US production and supply chain on China.
TSMC is a major supplier to Chinese firms like Huawei Technologies as well as US tech giants such as Qualcomm Inc and Apple Inc.
By TSMC’s standards, the plan is small but huge in terms of foreign investment in the US. TSMC’s capex plan for 2020 is $15 billion-$16 billion. The plan was to build the plant over nine years, the Taiwanese chipmaker said.
