TSMC chairman C.C. Wei has announced an additional US$100 billion investment for building capacity in the US, on top of the company's existing US$165 billion investment in the country. The announcement has sparked widespread speculation, with some viewing the move as bowing to pressure from the US government, while others see it as a carefully weighted decision balancing customer demand in the US with Taiwan's national security concerns.
According to data from Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taiwanese electronics component makers have increased their investments in the US by nearly 490% over the past five years.
In the US, the services sector accounts for roughly 77% of GDP and 70–80% of employment. By contrast, Taiwan is a major electronics and high-technology manufacturing hub, with manufacturing output reaching NT$21.3 trillion (US$656 billion) in 2025, surpassing the NT$20 trillion mark for the first time.
Moreover, manufacturing output in the first quarter of 2026 grew by 20.58% year-on-year to NT$5.951 trillion (US$183 billion), marking nine consecutive quarters of positive growth, and highlighting Taiwan's position as the world's leading chip maker for high-performance computing and AI applications.
Nevertheless, the US is actively courting manufacturers to invest on American soil due to national security considerations. Efforts in this regard have gone beyond the traditional steel, automobile, and shipbuilding industries, with advanced semiconductors and AI server assembly also becoming key targets. Even though many Taiwanese companies have already begun setting up factories or service bases in the US, others have remained hesitant due to the high costs involved, or have only made small-scale investments.
MOEA data shows that between 2021 and 2025, approved outbound investments totaled US$148.6 billion—an increase of 57.8%, or US$54.5 billion, over the 2016–2020 period. Manufacturing accounts for 70–80% of investments in the US; in particular, over the past five years, investments from electronics component makers grew by US$17.6 billion—or nearly 490%—over the previous five-year period, as major semiconductor companies continue expanding their overseas footprint.
In addition, AI server assembly giants have also built production and sales bases in the US to meet demand from their CSP customers. Compared with the period 2016–2020, investment rose by US$1.7 billion over the past five years, marking a more than twelve-fold increase.
Even with the higher costs associated with US-based production, Taiwanese firms have been able to maintain these investments due to their profitability. According to a 2025 survey on factory calibration and operation conducted by the MOEA, operating profit in Taiwan's manufacturing sector reached NT$2.2 trillion (US$67.8 billion) in 2024, up about 30% year-on-year. Looking at segment-specific operating profit margins, the electronics components segment reached 23.2%, while the computer, electronics, and optical products segment also improved to 7.1%, marking a rare bright spot for an industry that has been known for gross margins in the 3–4% range since 2008.
Taiwan's electronics components and computer, electronics, and optical products industries combined employ about 850,000 people, or 29.1% of the manufacturing workforce. Taiwan has about 468 semiconductor fabs, of which 269 are located in the Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli region centered on Hsinchu Science Park.
However, the US–China trade war and geopolitical instabilities have accelerated global supply chain restructuring, and the rapid emergence of new technologies has boosted demand for Taiwan's electronics and ICT industries. These have become major factors for Taiwanese companies as they strengthen their overseas layout, according to the MOEA.
Meanwhile, China has seen investment inflows decline steadily since 2016. Although China has long been the top destination for Taiwan's outbound investments, its average share of outbound investments over the past five years fell to 12.9%, down 70.9% from the peak of 83.8% in 2010, and falling even further to a mere 0.9% in the first five months of 2026.
Article translated by Kevin Wang and edited by Jerry Chen
