Previously, the US Department of Commerce sought public opinion on the possibility of imposing tariffs on foreign made semiconductors to encourage domestic chip manufacturing.

Subsequently, many manufacturers issued this warning. Recently, TSMC stated in a letter to the department that such tariffs may threaten the demand for electronic products and reduce the company's revenue. The company stated, "The decline in demand may bring uncertainty to the construction and operation schedule of our wafer fab in Arizona. This may also weaken TSMC's financial ability to implement its ambitious Arizona project on time." TSMC, which produces chips for Apple, AMD, Nvidia, and even Intel, added, "The decrease in market demand for our major American customer products may reduce the demand for TSMC's onshore manufacturing capabilities and services

TSMC urged the Trump administration in the letter to exclude the company from any semiconductor related tariffs. In order to facilitate the rapid advancement of investments such as TSMC's Arizona factory, the government should exempt TSMC's Arizona factory and other companies that have committed to conducting semiconductor manufacturing projects in the United States from tariffs or other import restrictions

The letter pointed out that the company's factory in Arizona "will ultimately account for about 30% of TSMC's total global production capacity of 2 nanometer and more advanced technology nodes," which is also sufficient to meet the demand in the United States. In addition, TSMC has begun construction of its third wafer fab in Arizona, which will initially adopt 2-nanometer process technology, followed by A16 process technology and equipped with TSMC's state-of-the-art backside power supply solution - Super Power Rail.

Many other companies and industry organizations have also responded to the agency's request. Personal computer manufacturer Dell stated in the letter that efforts to produce more chips in the United States are still in their early stages and lack the necessary infrastructure to supply these products on a large scale to meet current and growing demand.

At the same time, HP Enterprise stated to the US Department of Commerce that "HPE has no choice but to import semiconductors for its US manufacturing business. Imposing tariffs on these imported semiconductors will damage HPE's ability to maintain and expand its domestic manufacturing activities, hinder US research and innovation, and ultimately harm national security and economic growth. ”

But Intel, which produces chips in the United States, holds a slightly different view, stating the need to "protect American made semiconductor wafers and their derivatives.

Intel said, "In order to maintain the US semiconductor industry and support global customers, policies must address structural differences and incentivize US semiconductor manufacturing. Due to tariff related costs, foreign buyers are increasingly choosing US chips for design, so it is crucial to relieve these financial burdens on US made semiconductor products

The same letter also called on the Trump administration to exempt semiconductor wafers produced in the United States, as well as wafers produced based on American process technology and American owned intellectual property. In addition, Intel hopes that its supply chain will also be exempted, including chip manufacturing equipment developed overseas.

The company added, "Although Intel is committed to producing semiconductors in the United States, it is economically unfeasible to fully localize every link of the supply chain without significantly increasing costs and causing production delays

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