Taipei, Feb. 19 (CNA) A senior advisor to Taiwan's president said the claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that Taiwan "stole" the United States' chip business is a misunderstanding, stressing that Taiwan's semiconductor success has been a crucial element in helping the U.S. maintain its technological edge.
During his presidential campaign, Trump said that Taiwan "stole our chip business." After returning to the White House, he signed a presidential memorandum on Feb. 13 to pave the way for tariffs on foreign chip exports, pointing to the fact that over 90 percent of advanced chips are currently produced in Taiwan.
"Taiwan took our chip business away," Trump said after the signing. "We want that business back."
Chen Po-chih (陳博志), currently a senior advisor to President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and a former head of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (now known as the National Development Council), told CNA in an exclusive interview on Monday that Trump's claim that Taiwan stole the U.S. chip business is incorrect and a misunderstanding.
Taiwan's semiconductor technology was initially developed with U.S. assistance, with the earliest technology coming from the U.S., and Taiwan's first generation of semiconductor talent trained through U.S.-organized programs, he said.
Such historical context demonstrates that the U.S. has long supported Taiwan's semiconductor development and initially helped it counter other countries in the sector, Chen said, adding that Taiwan later surpassed global competitors through its own research and innovation.
He added that the U.S. relies on Taiwan for contract manufacturing, as it enables American companies to focus on the research and design of software, hardware, and advanced chips, with that model of cooperation contributing to the rise of world-leading tech giants in the U.S.
"Without the cooperation of Taiwan and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the U.S. might not have been able to outcompete strategically ambitious countries like China, Japan, and South Korea," he said.
One example is how the U.S. regained its economic leadership after the 1970s, when Japan dominated the production of many new products, from color televisions to videocassette recorders and video cameras, Chen said.
He noted that the U.S. did not reclaim its technological lead until the emergence of personal computers (PCs), with Taiwan playing a crucial role in the recovery by providing contract manufacturing of PCs that enabled U.S. companies to rapidly develop and dominate the market at low costs.
"The U.S. has won, thanks to Taiwan," Chen said.
He added that each industry has different optimal conditions for its development and Taiwan has the best conditions and foundation for contract manufacturing in the semiconductor sector, with China, South Korea, and Singapore having tried to surpass Taiwan in the sector but failed to do so.
Even if TSMC moved entirely to the U.S., it would not be as competitive as it is in Taiwan, Chen said, adding that such a move would weaken the ability of the world's largest contract chipmaker to support the U.S. tech industry and thus create more opportunities for China.
He also raised Taiwan's contract chip manufacturing and its information and communication technology (ICT) industries as key examples, noting that they are currently helping the U.S. maintain its leadership in the AI sector.
The honorary chairman of Taiwan Thinktank also pointed out that if the U.S. suppresses Taiwan's semiconductor sector, some Taiwanese talent could be absorbed by China, ultimately harming American interests.
While Taiwan understands U.S. concerns about national security and supply chain risks, and demanding the expansion of semiconductor production by Taiwanese companies in the U.S., Chen said, future discussions between the two sides should focus on cooperation rather than on the U.S. imposing high tariffs on chips produced in Taiwan.
If the U.S. imposes high tariffs on Taiwanese chips, "should Taiwanese companies raise their chip prices?" Chen posed the question, adding that even if those companies do not raise prices, it is questionable whether they should still prioritize demand from U.S. companies, which are deeply concerned about the issue.
The key to current semiconductor collaboration is a "horizontal division of labor," where the U.S., Taiwan, and other democratic countries coordinate their strengths and continue to specialize, Chen said, noting that such an approach would be in America's best interest.
Apart from his remarks on Taiwanese chips, Trump on Feb. 13 announced plans to hit exports from countries that he said have trade policies that are unfair to the U.S., saying, "Whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less."
Trump's plan to impose reciprocal tariffs is not necessarily the "most appropriate" tariff, and the policy appears crude, possibly stemming from its primary purpose of "intimidation," Chen said.
Chen, an honorary professor in the Department of Economics at National Taiwan University, explained that Trump's concept of "reciprocal tariffs" can be simplified as: "If you tax me, I will tax you the same amount."
Chen said that in international trade, a country rarely exports large quantities of a good that it imports in large quantities, meaning that imposing reciprocal tariffs on products could be ineffective.
However, he noted that the U.S., the world's leading economic power, is able to calculate and implement tariffs that maximize its own benefits while exerting pressure on other nations, making Trump's reciprocal tariff policy appear to be an act of "intimidation."
It remains unclear whether Trump's approach would apply uniformly to all products or be tailored to individual countries, Chen added. Either way, the approach violates the World Trade Organization (WTO) principle of Most-Favored-Nation (MFN).
According to the principles of the trading system outlined on the WTO website, MFN falls under the category of "Trade without discrimination."
The WTO notes, "Under the WTO agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners."
However, the U.S. president has shown little regard for multilateral organizations.
