TSMC Calls US Semiconductor Terms ‘Unacceptable’

TSMC is pushing back on some of the terms in the US Chips Act, calling them “unacceptable” and vowing to continue discussions.

The US is trying to reinvigorate domestic semiconductor manufacturing, passing the Chips Act, which sets aside nearly $53 billion to help fund the establishment of factories and foundries. According to The Wall Street Journal, TSMC is looking to receive $15 billion of available funding but is not happy with some of the terms.

“Some of the conditions are unacceptable and we aim to mitigate any negative impact from these and will continue discussions with the U.S. government,” TSMC Chairman Mark Liu said at an industry meeting.

At the heart of the issue are rules that would require companies to provide detailed information about their operations and engage in profit sharing under some circumstances.

For their part, US officials are trying to reassure companies that the rules are in place to protect US taxpayers, not take advantage of companies.

“We are not writing blank checks to any company that asks,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Officials have said profit sharing would only happen if a company made significantly more than anticipated and that any confidential information shared would be carefully guarded. Unfortunately, that may not be enough reassurance for TSMC. As WSJ points out, not only does the company have its own trade secrets to protect, but it is also charged with protecting the trade secrets of the companies it creates chips for.

US officials clearly want to use the Chips Act as a way to maintain control over how semiconductor makers do business. If they’re not careful, however, they may find that companies decide the cost of accepting the money is simply too high.