<story><title>TSMC Gets $11.6B in US Grants, Loans for Three Chip Fabs</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-08/tsmc-gets-11-6-billion-in-us-grants-loans-for-three-chip-fabs</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>everdrive</author><text>I agree with you, and am excited for TSMC fabs in the US. At the same time, I also wonder if this would lead to _less_ defense of Taiwan if we neuter its strategic importance by building those crucial fabs somewhere else. Mind you, this is not an argument against building them. It just makes me wonder what the other effects will be.</text></item><item><author>joshuacc</author><text>How else do you propose to get a company to build a factory at your preferred location rather than theirs? Paying companies is the usual way to get them to do things.&lt;p&gt;The economic effects are important but secondary to the national security effects of having TSMC chip manufacturing on US soil.</text></item><item><author>crispyambulance</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s nice to build chip fabs in the USA, but is it _really_ necessary to &amp;quot;gift&amp;quot; some of the most capable and productive companies on the planet billions of dollars (not even counting the tax freebies)?&lt;p&gt;The whole CHIPS act thing seems backwards and short-sighted.&lt;p&gt;As the US education system is backsliding into literally worse-than-third-world outcomes, can we expect that companies like TSMC will even be able to find enough US workers to staff these facilities at a scale which will be large enough to move the economic needle?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>WitCanStain</author><text>US will still have plenty of reason to defend Taiwan, if only because it is a crucial part of America&amp;#x27;s containment strategy - China would have a much easier time operating in the Pacific if it controls Taiwan, and the US won&amp;#x27;t allow that. Further, if Taiwan falls a lot of countries will lose faith in America&amp;#x27;s ability to protect them from China which would thrust the entirety of South-East Asia into China&amp;#x27;s hands, also something the US can&amp;#x27;t afford. Though, with recent claims that China can build 1000 cruise missiles a day[0] it might not matter whether US defends them or not.&lt;p&gt;[0] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;asiatimes.com&amp;#x2F;2024&amp;#x2F;03&amp;#x2F;america-has-no-ukraine-plan-b-except-more-war&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;asiatimes.com&amp;#x2F;2024&amp;#x2F;03&amp;#x2F;america-has-no-ukraine-plan-b-...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>
<story><title>TSMC Gets $11.6B in US Grants, Loans for Three Chip Fabs</title><url>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-08/tsmc-gets-11-6-billion-in-us-grants-loans-for-three-chip-fabs</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>everdrive</author><text>I agree with you, and am excited for TSMC fabs in the US. At the same time, I also wonder if this would lead to _less_ defense of Taiwan if we neuter its strategic importance by building those crucial fabs somewhere else. Mind you, this is not an argument against building them. It just makes me wonder what the other effects will be.</text></item><item><author>joshuacc</author><text>How else do you propose to get a company to build a factory at your preferred location rather than theirs? Paying companies is the usual way to get them to do things.&lt;p&gt;The economic effects are important but secondary to the national security effects of having TSMC chip manufacturing on US soil.</text></item><item><author>crispyambulance</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s nice to build chip fabs in the USA, but is it _really_ necessary to &amp;quot;gift&amp;quot; some of the most capable and productive companies on the planet billions of dollars (not even counting the tax freebies)?&lt;p&gt;The whole CHIPS act thing seems backwards and short-sighted.&lt;p&gt;As the US education system is backsliding into literally worse-than-third-world outcomes, can we expect that companies like TSMC will even be able to find enough US workers to staff these facilities at a scale which will be large enough to move the economic needle?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>ajmurmann</author><text>Yes, Vivek famously already said during his campaign that he&amp;#x27;d tell the CCP that we need a few years to catch up on chips and then they can have Taiwan. I&amp;#x27;m sure other share this (IMO inhuman, deprived of any morality and allegiance to our liberal western alliance and any foresight) sentiment</text></comment>