Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Thursday praised semiconductor giant TSMC’s plan to invest $100 billion (€92.7 billion) in the United States as a “historic moment” for Taiwan-US ties.

Lai remarked that the government was not pressured by Washington, the self-ruled island’s main security benefactor, “during TSMC’s US investment process.”

The world’s largest chipmaker announced the plan earlier this week after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on imported semiconductor chips.

The announcement brings TSMC’s investment in the US to $165 billion, which the chip manufacturing powerhouse said was the “largest single foreign direct investment in US history.”

Taiwan’s semiconductor dominance has long been a critical factor in the global economy, and the expansion of TSMC’s operations in the US is viewed as a significant development in the ongoing competition between the US and China for dominance in the semiconductor industry.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/tsmc-investment-historic-moment-for-us-taiwan-ties/a-71846778?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf