Protectionism

As the US pushes for manufacturing repatriation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is grappling with unexpected challenges in building a massive chip factory in the desert north of Phoenix, Arizona. Unlike Taiwan's single-permit process, the US's complex regulatory maze requires the firm to create around 18,000 rules from scratch, costing US$35 million. TSMC chairman C.C. Wei says this is no longer just a business investment but an expensive social experiment in transplanting industrial culture.