One of Taiwan’s largest companies and the world’s largest contract manufacturer of silicon chips is set to announce plans to build a factory in Arizona, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is expected to announce the plans as early as Friday, and could be producing chips in the U.S. by the end of 2023, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Arizona plant would make chips with 5-nanometers transistors, which it began rolling out for customers at a test factory in Taiwan recently. Industry experts predict the factory would cost more than $10 billion to build.
The company has worked with officials in the Commerce Department to develop the plan.
Amid growing frustrations surrounding the outsourcing of American manufacturing overseas, the plan to build in the U.S. could be a political boon for President Donald Trump. (RELATED:Here’s A Look At One Ohio Town Where The Manufacturing Jobs Are Coming Back)
Semiconductors play a key role in both consumer electronics and defense equipment, but the most advanced chips are made in Asia, which has caused concern among U.S. officials as tensions with China grow, Reuters reported.
TSMC is a major supplier to Apple Inc., and makes the chips that power Apple’s iPhones.