The USA Chips and Science Act has prioritized high-end semiconductors and other advanced chips as a matter of national security, with the underlying notion of the ongoing competition and disputes between the US and China. A side issue is a concern within the US government about an over-reliance on Taiwan as a primary chip supplier.

So now the big Taiwanese chipmaker is reportedly engaging with Washington about “guidance” regarding the act, specifically the subsidies offered domestic manufacturers, according to a Bloomberg report. TSMC confirmed that it's communicating with the US government, according to Bloomberg.

As noted in a recent IDCA report on the large volume of chip exports coming to the US from several Asian nations, including Taiwan, the trading web is complex. For example, Taiwan exports and imports more goods with China than with the US, and of course American companies have significant investments and relationships both with China and Taiwan. Additionally, TSMC itself is currently investing $40 billion (compare this large number to the total of $52 billion destined for subsidies in the Chips Act) to build a new chip fab in Arizona.

Both the US and China seem content to ratcheting up tensions a little further. China just completed a series of aggressive war games near and around Taiwan, and a major US politician just hosted Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen during her visit to California.