The US$11 billion Dresden facility will boost Germany’s automotive chipmaking capabilities and give TSMC a foothold on the European continent. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) announced in August that it would build a US$11 billion fab in Germany, its first facility in Europe and third outside Taiwan and China.   The fab will be constructed in…

While its unofficial ties with major democracies are paramount, Taiwan still values its remaining formal diplomatic relationships because they affirm its sovereignty. In July, Taiwan rolled out the red carpet for Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Peña, who visited the island democracy to reaffirm ties following his re-election. President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President Lai Ching-te jointly…

Participation in international trade agreements, whether bilateral or multilateral, would benefit Taiwan’s economy and reduce its excessive dependency on China. But entry into some pacts is more likely to be feasible than others. In mid-April, China announced it would start investigating whether nearly 2,500 Taiwan export products conform to its fair-trade rules. The products to…

In light of rising tensions between China and the free world, resilience is becoming paramount, while a bifurcation of supply chains seems inevitable. Eyebrows were raised in December when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) founder Morris Chang, speaking at the opening ceremony of the chipmaking giant’s Arizona fab, remarked that “free trade is almost dead…