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President Joe Biden on Tuesday talked up Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s plan to raise its investment in Arizona manufacturing to $40 billion from $12 billion.
Biden noted that Apple
AAPL,
is a major TSMC customer, and that Tim Cook, the iPhone maker’s CEO, was in attendance.
“Apple had to buy all the advanced chips from overseas. Now they’re going to bring more of their supply chain here home. It could be a game changer,” the president said, as he delivered a speech at a TSMC facility in Phoenix.
TSMC
TSM,
2330,
which already was in the process of spending $12 billion to build a factory in Phoenix, announced Tuesday morning that it’s constructing a second facility that’s scheduled to come on line in 2026.
“The overall investment for these two fabs will be approximately US$40 billion, representing the largest foreign direct investment in Arizona history and one of the largest foreign direct investments in the history of the United States,” said TSMC, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of chips, in a news release.
Ahead of Biden’s speech, the White House said he would “discuss how TSMC’s new investments in Phoenix are a result of his economic plan — including the CHIPS and Science Act, and his commitment to addressing the economic and national security concerns of not producing lead-edge semiconductors in the U.S.”
A range of VIPs were expected to be in attendance, including TSMC founder Morris Chang, Micron
MU,
CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, NVIDIA
NVDA,
CEO Jensen Huang, Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs.
TSMC’s stock closed down by 2% on Tuesday and has shed 22% so far this year.
U.S. stocks
DJIA,
COMP,
finished sharply lower Tuesday, with analysts blaming worries over a potential U.S. recession, leaving the S&P 500
SPX,
off by 17% in the year to date.
“It’s been a rough few years for hardworking Americans, for businesses as well. In a lot of families, things are still pretty rough. But there are bright spots where America is reasserting itself, and the innovation and manufacturing boom here in Arizona is one of those places,” Biden said.
Now read: Apple CEO Tim Cook confirms company will use chips made in Arizona
