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TSMC Shares Surge as Taiwan Says Firm Exempt From Trump Tariffs

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan said its leading chip manufacturer will not have to pay a 100% tariff on such imports to the US, helping drive Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. shares to a record.

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“TSMC is exempted from the chip tariffs because it has set up plants in the US,” Liu Chin-ching, minister in charge of the National Development Council, said in Taipei on Thursday. As for other Taiwanese companies that may be affected by the levies, they “shall continue to stay ahead” if competitors face the same charges.

The US government has also expressed willingness to continue negotiations with Taiwan on tariff issues, Liu added. The government still expects economic growth in 2025 to reach the level of 3.1%, despite the impact of the new levies, Liu said.

TSMC manufactures the most advanced chips used in artificial intelligence, and the island’s technology exports drove growth to a blistering 7.96% in the second quarter, the fastest pace in four years. The trillion-dollar company accounts for almost 40% of the weight of Taiwan’s benchmark stock index, and its rally Thursday helped lift the broader benchmark.

The Taiwan dollar also gained as much as 0.6% to 29.808, the strongest level in a week, after the government confirmed TSMC is exempted from the US chip tariffs.

United Microelectronics Corp., Taiwan’s second-largest chipmaker, may also reduce the impact of tariffs through its cooperation with Intel Corp., Liu said.

“Investors had been apprehensive while awaiting the tariff rate for semiconductors, but exemptions for Taiwan’s largest company have allayed concerns,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. “Foreign equity inflows on the back of this news have helped pushed TWD stronger. With the dividend repatriation flows now largely complete, and with the USD back under pressure again, we could see further appreciation in TWD near-term.”

On Wednesday, Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports, but cited Apple Inc. as an example of a company that won’t have to pay levies because of its investment in the US.

“If you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge,” Trump said. “Even though you’re building and you’re not producing yet.”

In March, TSMC announced an additional $100 billion investment in the US, with three more fabs, two advanced packaging facilities and a research and development center in Arizona, raising its total investment in the US to $165 billion.

The US recently imposed a 20% tariff on goods from Taiwan, but said the chip sector would be treated separately. That levy is higher than the 15% Taiwan’s main regional competitors like Japan and South Korea both secured.

Still, companies and governments continue to scramble to assess the impact of Trump’s various tariff announcements.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. has chip fabs in Texas and is joining Apple’s “American Manufacturing Program,” making it well-positioned to avoid tariffs. But the government of Malaysia, a significant semiconductor exporter, on Thursday said it has reached out to the US seeking clarity on the tariffs.

--With assistance from Betty Hou, Wenjin Lv and Anisah Shukry.