For the men and women who will soon be building some of the world’s most advanced computer chips in the Arizona desert, the path to a new career is about to begin in Taiwan. A $12 billion investment by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in Arizona is expected to create 2,000 jobs, with the company taking numerous future workers for training in Taiwan. The project is already reshaping lives and communities in the Grand Canyon State, offering a future in high-tech manufacturing for families across the region.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday hailed the economic and educational cooperation with Taiwan during a meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei. “Arizona and Taiwan have many shared economic strengths, specifically in technology and advanced manufacturing industries,” Ducey said.
“Both Arizona and Taiwan are global semiconductor leaders and it is in this industry where our partnership is the greatest.” The governor added that the investment “has elevated the potential of what’s possible between Arizona and Taiwan.” The partnership extends beyond factory floors. Arizona is also home to a base that trains Taiwan’s F-16 fighter pilots, a major part of the island’s defenses against a threatened Chinese blockade or invasion.
Arizona plans to open a state representative office in Taipei, and the sides have inked an agreement on cooperation in higher education, opening doors for students and researchers on both sides of the Pacific.
Taiwan’s Role in a Global Technology Battle
Taiwan is a leader in the production of semiconductors, the critical chips used in everyday electronics, and has become a battleground in the technology competition between the U.S. and China. Neither Tsai nor Ducey directly mentioned China, although in her remarks the president indicated current events were driving expanded economic links between the sides. “In the face of authoritarian expansionism and the economic challenges of the post-pandemic era, Taiwan seeks to bolster cooperation with the United States in the semiconductor and other high-tech industries,” Tsai said.
“This would help build more secure and more resilient supply chains.” The meeting was the latest in a series of visits by U.S. political leaders that have stirred the ire of China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and condemns all official contacts between Taipei and foreign governments that recognize Beijing. Despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations, the U.S. remains Taiwan’s main source of political and military support, and federal law requires it to ensure the island has the ability to defend itself against Chinese threats.
The U.S. recently sent a pair of missile cruisers through the 180-kilometer (110-mile)-wide Taiwan Strait in a rejection of Chinese protests.
What to Watch Next
As TSMC’s Arizona facility moves from blueprint to production, the first wave of Arizonan workers will soon begin their training in Taiwan, bringing back skills that will anchor a new generation of American semiconductor manufacturing. The opening of Arizona’s state representative office in Taipei and the higher education agreement signal that this partnership is only beginning. Watch for how the investment reshapes not just the local economy but also the broader technology supply chain between the U.S. and Taiwan, even as geopolitical tensions continue to simmer across the strait.
