In ‘major win’ for Arizona, Trump and TSMC announce $100B manufacturing expansion

President Donald Trump and the head of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing on Monday announced a massive expansion of the company’s stake in north Phoenix, ratcheting up what had originally been a $12 billion investment in a single factory or “fab” five years ago to a new total of $165 billion and six fabs.

Late last year, the company started producing the most advanced semiconductors on U.S. soil at the north Phoenix complex, where TSMC later increased its investment to $40 billion and then $65 billion. The new $100 billion expansion, to $165 billion, aims to avoid tariffs and bring production closer to some of the company’s key customers, including Apple, Nvidia, Broadcom and AMD.

All of the new $100 billion investment will come from TSMC.

This development follows a recent announcement that Apple, TSMC’s largest customer and the most valuable corporation in the world, would invest $500 billion in new American manufacturing in coming years, with Arizona a focal point for that, too.

And it coincides with more suppliers, such as Amkor Technology, starting or expanding their own operations here as a tech-centered “ecosystem” emerges for the metro area.

TSMC said the expansion includes plans for three new fabrication plants, bringing the total to six, plus two advanced packaging facilities and a major research and development center. Packaging refers to protecting and connecting chips within their ultimate applications. TSMC’s packaging and R&D centers are new wrinkles for Arizona.

Even before the announcement, TSMC had planned the largest single foreign direct investment in U.S. history. TSMC didn’t specify how many new permanent jobs would be added in Phoenix, but it expects the expansion to support 40,000 construction jobs over the next four years. Beyond that, no timetable has been set by the company.

In the announcement March 3 from the Oval Office, Trump was joined by C.C. Wei, TSMC’s CEO and chairman.

Trump emphasized the importance of semiconductors, which he called the “backbone of the 21st Century economy.”

The minuscule devices are found in most modern types of electronic equipment including cellphones, computers, vehicles, utility equipment, military hardware and medical instruments.

TSMC employs about 3,000 permanent workers at the complex near Dove Valley Road and Loop 303. In answering questions from reporters, Trump alluded to TSMC possibly expanding that to around 25,000 when the complex is fully built out. TSMC has projected 6,000 employees there so far.

Trump called the investment “a tremendous thing for our country,” introduced Wei as a “legend,” described TSMC as the “most powerful company in the world” and referred to Arizona as “a great state,” adding “I like it because I won it,” referring to the 2024 presidential election vote.

Wei said his company in Arizona will produce chips to support products and applications ranging from artificial intelligence to smartphones.

Arizona is one of nine states where Apple highlighted projects where it plans to invest more than $500 billion over the next four years, with the company announcing plans to hire about 20,000 more employees nationally as it invests heavily in advanced technologies.

It would mark the largest commitment ever by the maker of cellphones, touchscreen tablets, personal computers and many other devices. Most of the planned 20,000 new Apple hires will work in research and development, silicon engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

TSMC came to Phoenix after several years of courting by economic development officials here. The company later qualified for a $6.6 billion grant under the CHIPS and Science Act, which was championed by President Joe Biden. Trump has taken a different tack, favoring tariffs to prod foreign manufacturers such as TSMC to bring their operations here.

“They can come here to avoid paying tariffs,” said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, also at the Oval Office presentation. Trump left open the question of how high tariffs might range on future semiconductor imports, citing numbers in the 25% to 50% range.

TSMC, which focuses on making chips for other companies rather than its own products, recently had the second-highest stock-market value of any corporation headquartered in Asia. The company earned a profit of around $11.5 billion in the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31 on revenue of $26.9 billion.

Commercial production at the Arizona fab or factory was widely expected to start in early 2025. However, the company began high-volume output during the fourth quarter of 2024 using advanced 4-nanometer technology, with yields or results comparable to those achieved by its fabs in Taiwan, Wei said earlier.

Despite investing billions of its own dollars, TSMC could still take advantage of federal tax incentives. The CHIPS Act allows companies to claim a 25% tax credit for investments that they make in American semiconductor manufacturing before the end of 2026, including this new one for TSMC.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, lead negotiator of the CHIPS Act, called the TSMC investment “huge news for Arizona that officially cements our state as a global hub for building the most advanced microchips in the world.” The expansion, he added, “will put tens of thousands of Arizonans to work in good-paying jobs that do not require a four-year degree.”

Kelly cited the bipartisan collaboration among Arizona’s federal, state and local leaders and economic-development teams as instrumental in encouraging TSMC to locate and expand here. Discussions began more than a decade ago.

“By boosting domestic microchip development and production, we’re reducing reliance on foreign supply chains and making sure America leads the way in the industries of the future,” Kelly said.

Gov. Katie Hobbs said the TSMC announcement “cements Arizona as the epicenter of advanced chip manufacturing and innovation in America.” That effort has been aided by university partners and others, she added. Arizona State University, for example, now has the nation’s largest engineering school.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego preceded the White House announcement by praising TSMC for “doubling down” on its Arizona investment as “a major win” for American workers and the metro area.

“This investment further strengthens domestic chip manufacturing, reduces reliance on foreign supply chains and enhances national security,” Gallego said in a prepared statement. “Billions in investment and thousands of high-tech, high-paying jobs illustrate how TSMC is a partner in cementing Phoenix as a global leader in semiconductor production.”

This newest expansion “positions the Phoenix region at the forefront of advanced manufacturing,” Gallego added.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Reach the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump and TSMC announce $100B manufacturing expansion in Phoenix