GlobalWafers is actively building out manufacturing overseas in anticipation of rising tariffs on chip materials, underscoring growing expectations that tit-for-tat trade measures will disrupt the semiconductor supply chain in coming years.
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The world’s third-largest provider of silicon wafers is expanding its factories in six of the nine countries where it operates, including two factories in the US, one in Italy, and one in Denmark.
“I believe that not only in the US but also some other countries, there will be some special tariff” in the industry, GlobalWafers chairwoman and chief executive officer Doris Hsu told Bloomberg Television. Potential tariffs can be avoided by shifting to local production, she added.
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World’s largest contract chip maker TSMC inaugurates its first plant in Japan
World’s largest contract chip maker TSMC inaugurates its first plant in Japan
Governments around the world increasingly view semiconductor technology through the lens of national security following chip shortages during and after the Covid-19 pandemic that crippled many industries, including car manufacturing. Rising geopolitical tensions have also raised the stakes.