Lai Ching-te said on Friday that Taiwan looks forward to even greater semiconductor investment in Arizona to strengthen ties with the United States, during a meeting with a visiting senator from the state.
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged major semiconductor producers, which run a large trade surplus with the United States, to expand their investments in the country, particularly in chips used to power artificial intelligence, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier of advanced chips driving the AI revolution, is investing $165 billion in Phoenix to build multiple manufacturing facilities.
During talks with Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, Lai said TSMC’s investment in Arizona stands as a notable example of successful cooperation between Taiwanese and U.S. industry, underscoring the deepening economic and technological partnership between the two sides.
“We look forward to even more semiconductor manufacturing, research and development facilities springing up in the greater Phoenix area. This will continue to strengthen Taiwan-U.S. relations,” he added.
Last week, Taiwan and the United States struck a deal to cut U.S. tariffs on the island’s exports to the country to 15% from 20%.
Taiwan companies will also invest $250 billion to boost production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence in the U.S., while Taiwan will also guarantee an additional $250 billion in credit to facilitate further investment.
Gallego is the first U.S. lawmaker or official that Lai has met in person since the agreement was reached.
“The amount of investment that is happening in Arizona right now from Taiwanese firms, especially TSMC, is impressive,” he told Lai.
“We are the envy of other states and we want to continue to see that growth.”