US, Taiwan in trade talks that include worker training: sources

The Trump administration is in talks with Taiwan on a trade agreement that may see Taiwanese firms increase investment and training for US workers in sectors such as chip manufacturing, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is among the companies expected to expand operations and provide workforce training in the US as part of the deal.

Taiwan is seeking to lower the 20% tariff on its exports to the US, though chips are currently exempt as the US builds its domestic chip sector.

The timing and final terms of the Taiwan deal remain uncertain, and negotiations are ongoing.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Taiwan’s US chip spend vs Korea, Japan

Taiwan’s US total is below Korea’s $350B while Japan’s is $550B. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans $165B in Arizona, with $65B for three fabs and $100B for three more fabs, two advanced packaging sites, plus an R&D (research and development) center 1.
First fab began production in 2024 2 with 4nm chips for Nvidia GPUs. A second plant targets 2028 for 2nm and 3nm. TSMC received $6.6B in Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act funding plus $5B in low-cost loans 1.
Amkor Technology, a semiconductor packaging and test provider, is building an integrated circuit (IC) assembly and test plant in Arizona; production starts early 2028 2. TSMC and Amkor announced in Oct 2024 deeper work on 3D Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) 2. The effort covers integrated fan-out packaging used to boost performance and memory bandwidth in high-end chips 2.

CHIPS Act sets $200M for workforce training and education 3, opening work for training providers and community colleges near large fabs, including Arizona.
CHIPS for America R&D has $11B for semiconductor research 4; the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) will award $0.5M to $2M workforce grants, applications due Aug 2025 5. The National Science Foundation (NSF) invested $42.4M for semiconductors and $14.5M for Innovation in Two-Year College STEM education awards 3.
TSMC’s Arizona build adds “tens of thousands of construction and engineering jobs” 1. This creates demand for specialized training that U.S. staffing and workforce firms can pursue via state or federal bids.