Taiwan's Economics Ministry has cleared roughly US$44 billion in U.S. investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. since 2020, Focus Taiwan reported.

The figure aggregates TSMC investment applications reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) over the five-year window. Taipei screens outbound semiconductor capital before overseas projects proceed, classifying certain process technologies as protected industrial assets.

How the approval process works

Taiwan's MOEA reviews outbound investment applications that involve core technologies designated under the Industrial Innovation Act and related regulations. Companies seeking to invest abroad in protected semiconductor know-how must file for ministry approval before capital leaves the island. The mechanism sits alongside export controls administered by the Bureau of Trade under the Ministry.

• Aggregate value: approximately US$44 billion
• Approving body: Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Taipei
• Investor: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC; NYSE: TSM)
• Destination market: United States
• Period covered: 2020 to present

What the US$44B envelope signals

The cumulative approval total reflects two converging trends: a sustained redistribution of leading-edge foundry capacity toward U.S. soil and continued capital deployment by TSMC into its Arizona program. The figure positions TSMC as the dominant outbound semiconductor investor under the ministry's review pipeline since 2020.

Analysts treat the aggregate as a proxy for the policy weight Taiwan attaches to its foundry sector. The five-year total ranks among the largest outbound semiconductor investment envelopes the MOEA has cleared for a single corporate applicant.

Industry position

TSMC operates the world's largest contract chipmaking footprint and produces the bulk of advanced-node semiconductors at 7 nanometers and below. Its overseas investment decisions directly affect U.S. fabless customers that have pressed for domestic fabrication capacity.

Taiwan's continued control over process technology deemed critical to national security shapes the approval threshold for outbound projects. The US$44B clearance figure does not imply a relaxation of that framework, only the measured processing of qualifying applications.

Open questions

• How much of the approved US$44B has been disbursed versus committed on a contractual basis?
• Which specific fab modules and process nodes does the figure cover?
• Will the envelope expand as additional Arizona phases enter the planning stage?

The MOEA has not published a project-by-project breakdown within the US$44B total. Subsequent corporate disclosures from TSMC will determine whether the aggregate rises as further applications are filed and cleared.