That’s the core argument Trump made during the China trip, and it’s why chips were the one thing that didn’t get a deal.
*What Trump said publicly:*
“Move chip production to America NOW.” He tied it directly to Taiwan risk and said Xi is “waiting for the right moment.” The public message was: you can’t run the global economy on 90% of advanced chips coming from a 100-mile flashpoint.
*Why he’s worried:*
- *TSMC makes ∼90% of sub-7nm chips* globally. Nvidia, Apple, AMD, Qualcomm all depend on it.
- *Geography*: Taiwan is 100 miles off Fujian. No other choke point in tech is that concentrated and that exposed.
- *Wall Street pricing*: Markets are pricing TSMC like it’s Intel in Ohio. No Taiwan risk premium.
*What actually happened on chips in Beijing:*
No breakthrough. US kept H200 export controls but approved them for China with a license. China didn’t budge on rare earths for chip gear. Trump left with Boeing orders, not a chip deal.
*What’s already moving:*
1. *CHIPS Act 2.0*: TSMC, Samsung, Intel are building fabs in Arizona, Texas, Ohio. But even with $52B in subsidies, US won’t hit 30% of advanced capacity until 2028-2030.
2. *“Friendshoring”*: US is pushing Japan, Korea, Netherlands to restrict ASML/EUV exports to China.
3. *Supply chain redundancy*: Apple and Nvidia are dual-sourcing to TSMC Arizona and Samsung Korea, but it’s years out.