Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the island is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple and Nvidia.

Yesterday, Trump said he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US.

“Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries are highly complementary to each other, especially the US-designed, Taiwan-foundry model, which creates a win-win business model for Taiwan and US industries,” Taiwan’s economy ministry said in a statement in response.

The ministry “will continue to pay attention to US policy going forward, and there will be close contact and cooperation between the two sides to ensure that Taiwan’s and US’s industries and national interests can develop in a mutually beneficial way in the face of global challenges”.

In 2020, under the first Trump administration, TSMC announced that it would build a US$12 billion factory in Arizona in a win for efforts by the US government to wrestle global tech supply chains back from China.

It later boosted those plans with the total investment now standing at US$65 billion.

TSMC declined to comment on Trump’s tariff remarks.

Earlier this month, Taiwan economy minister Kuo Jyh-huei said he only expected a small impact from any tariffs imposed by Trump on semiconductor exports given their technological superiority.

In another potential challenge for Taiwan, Trump last week directed federal agencies to investigate persistent US trade deficits and unfair trade practices and alleged currency manipulation by other countries.

Taiwan’s trade surplus with the US surged 83% last year, compared with 2023, with exports to the US hitting a record high of US$111.4 billion, driven by demand for high-tech products such as semiconductors.