Taiwan is raising at least $4 billion to build an industrial park in Texas for the small manufacturers that TSMC and Foxconn depend on. The money is being raised through the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, an industry group.
The target is the second tier of the supply chain. TSMC has already spent $165 billion on its Arizona site and has committed a further $100 billion to four more 2nm fabs. Its smaller suppliers cannot match that. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has singled out some of them in a Taipei keynote, citing their role in the AI supply chain.
The park is only part of the offer. Taiwan's government said it will also provide loan guarantees to companies that move in, and help them deal with US officials over visas, permits, and other paperwork. Taiwan has reportedly secured land in Texas, but the Ministry of Economic Affairs gave no details and said it will elaborate later.
The numbers do not line up neatly yet. The government said it is planning "more than one" site, at $2 billion to $4 billion each. If that holds, the total could exceed the $4 billion now being raised. The source does not explain how the two figures relate.
Minister Kung Ming-hsin said the aim is a supply chain that "can also be joined by American firms and local workers, and not just Taiwanese companies." He said Terafab, Elon Musk's chipmaking project, could use it. He also said Taiwanese firms will not hand over their technology so Musk can integrate vertically, meaning bring more production steps under one owner.
That condition shows the logic. The "Taiwan model" is built to keep Taiwanese suppliers at the center of the chain, with American companies welcome as customers and partners. The US government has not commented. Whether it welcomes a supplier cluster it does not control is the open question.