Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been in discussions for several years with both TSMC and Intel to build advanced chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. and extract U.S. supply chain needs from China and southeast Asia. It appears his efforts, and the emphasis on global supply-chain shifts from President Trump, are getting results.
According to numerous media reports Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) is likely to announce this week they will build an advanced chip manufacturing facility in Arizona. A manufacturing facility for advanced 5 nanometer chip manufacturing is a steep investment decision costing around $10 billion.
This shift in a high-tech supply chain will align with President Trump’s prior discussions with Tim Cook the CEO of Apple which led to a decision to invest in Texas. TSMC is a chip supplier for Apple products; and Apple is moving to the 5nm processors in new devices. It looks like the movement of advanced industrial products away from China is underway.
(Via Appleinsider) – Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is set to announce that it plans to build an advanced chip factory in Arizona.
Taiwan-based TSMC is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of silicon chipsets and has long been Apple’s primary supplier of A-series chips.
Now, TSMC is said to be on the verge of announcing new plans to build out an advanced 5-nanometer facility in Arizona, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The decision, reached by TSMC executives at a board meeting in Taiwan on Tuesday, could be announced as soon as Friday. (link)
This move is a direct result of President Trump playing the economic long-game with an assembly of interests… one result within a much bigger picture.
President Trump has been creating a dual position for several years; this is very unique because it is the same strategy used by China. By expressing a panda mask, yet concealing the underlying dragon, President Trump’s policy to China is a mirror of themselves.
Historic Chinese geopolitical policy, vis-a-vis their totalitarian control over political sentiment (action) and diplomacy through silence, is evident in the strategic use of the space between carefully chosen words, not just the words themselves.
Each time China takes aggressive action (red dragon) China projects a panda face through silence and non-response to opinion of that action;…. and the action continues. The red dragon has a tendency to say one necessary thing publicly, while manipulating another necessary thing privately. The Art of War.
President Trump is the first U.S. President to understand how the red dragon hides behind the panda mask.
First he got their attention with tariffs. Then… On one hand President Trump has engaged in very public and friendly trade negotiations with China (panda approach); yet on the other hand, long before the Wuhan virus, Trump fractured their global supply chains, influenced the movement of industrial goods to alternate nations, and incentivized an exodus of manufacturing (dragon result).
It is specifically because he understands that Panda is a mask that President Trump messages warmth toward the Chinese people, and pours vociferous praise upon Xi Jinping, while simultaneously confronting the geopolitical doctrine of the Xi regime.
In essence Trump is mirroring the behavior of China while confronting their economic duplicity.
There is no doubt in my mind that President Trump has a very well thought out long-term strategy regarding China. President Trump takes strategic messaging toward the people of china very importantly. President Trump has, very publicly, complimented the friendship he feels toward President Xi Jinping; and praises Chairman Xi for his character, strength and purposeful leadership.
To build upon that projected and strategic message – President Trump seeded the background by appointing Ambassador Terry Branstad, a 30-year personal friend of President Xi Jinping.
To enhance and amplify the message – and broadcast cultural respect – President Trump used Mar-a-Lago as the venue for their first visit, not the White House. And President Trump’s beautiful granddaughter, Arabella, sweetly serenaded the Chinese First Family twice in Mandarin Chinese song showing the utmost respect for the guests and later for the hosts.
All of this activity mirrors the duplicity of China. From the November 2017 tour of Asia to the January 2020 China phase-1 trade deal, President Trump has been positioning, for an economic decoupling and a complete realignment of global trade and manufacturing.
This announcement by TSMC today is one small part of a much bigger economic reset currently underway. Beijing isn’t stupid, they can see themselves being outwitted and outplayed. President Trump is winning.
