Digital Taiwan Lecture Series – Assessing the Challenges of Taiwanese Semiconductor Firms’ Expansion into Europe
The semiconductor shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the urgency of restructuring the semiconductor supply chain. To strengthen its supply chain security, the European Union (EU) first proposed the European Chips Act (ECA) in February 2022 aiming to double the EU’s global market share in semiconductor manufacturing to 20 percent by 2030.
With the subsidies from Germany approved by European Commission, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contracted semiconductor manufacturing company, has expanded its businesses to Europe. In August 2024, the first TSMC-financed semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) broke ground in Dresden, Germany. The fab will specialize in producing mature chips for automation and electrification in the automotive and industrial sectors, and is expected to start production in 2027.
Even though the construction of the fab in Dresden has started, and there are several ongoing discussions on setting up a semiconductor cluster in the Czech Republic, the EU’s road to reposition itself in the global semiconductor supply chain is challenging.
What challenges are Taiwanese semiconductor companies facing? Can TSMC and its suppliers overcome the hurdles ahead? What is the outlook of Europe’s semiconductor ambition? Can Europe strike a balance between profitability and the sustainability of its semiconductor manufacturing industry? The webinar will explore these pressing questions by examining the political factors driving the international expansion of Taiwan’s semiconductor firms, the challenging business environment in Germany, and the reluctance of TSMC’s suppliers to expand within the EU.
More on this topic can also be found in the issue brief written by our two speakers, Chung-min Tsai and Yi-Chieh Chen: Challenges Faced by TSMC and Its Suppliers in Expanding to Europe
Speakers:
Chung-min Tsai is a Professor of the Department of Political Science at the National Chengchi University and Jointly Appointed Professor of the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science (TSE) at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. He obtained his doctoral degree in political science from the University of California at Berkeley in 2010. His research includes comparative politics, political economy, and China studies. His articles have appeared in China Quarterly, Asian Survey, Problems of Post-Communism, Taiwanese Political Science Review, and other journals and edited volumes. His current research focuses on state regulation in China’s financial sector.
Yi-Chieh Chen is a Project Manager and Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Security and Development Policy’s Stockholm Taiwan Center (STC). She is also part of the Stockholm Center for Research and Innovation Security (SCRIS). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic Language and Culture from National Chengchi University in Taiwan and a master’s degree in Global Studies from Gothenburg University in Sweden. Yi-Chieh Chen has a broad interest in East Asian affairs, soft power, and technology. Her research focus includes Taiwan-Europe relations, cross-strait relations, sports diplomacy, and the semiconductor industry.
Moderator: Yifei Zhu, Research Fellow, Stockholm China Center