Taiwan will not agree to a deal with the U.S. to produce half of all semiconductors in the country, the island’s top trade negotiator told local media outlets on Wednesday.
Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun told reporters that Taipei had “never made a 50-50 commitment and will not agree to such conditions,” Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported.
Cheng’s comments come after U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told U.S. television network News Nation over the weekend that Washington will pitch its plan to split chip production 50-50 between the two economies.
Taiwan is home to the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, TSMC (NYSE:TSM), and accounts for a majority of global chip production. Washington is now seeking to move at least half of Taiwan’s chip production to U.S. shores, although it is unclear just how such a move will play out.
TSMC’s chips play a key role in the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry, with the chipmaker having enjoyed substantially stronger demand over the past three years. TSMC is the sole manufacturer of the cutting edge processors produced by AI majors such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA).
Taiwan has a hefty trade surplus with the U.S., a bulk of which is chips. The island currently faces a 20% tariff on exports to the United States.
Taiwan is engaged in high-level trade dialogue with the U.S., with Cheng having recently returned from talks held in Washington.
Cheng said trade talks remained ongoing, as the island seeks more preferential trade treatment from Washington.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/taiwan-rejects-5050-chip-production-deal-with-us-4264986
