Morris Chang speaks out against on-shoring IC manufacturing

Author: EIS Release Date: Jul 26, 2021

Morris Chang (pictured) has spoken out against the current moves by countries to try and establish advanced domestic chip manufacturing capabilities.

 

 

“Recently, we note with concern the tendency to want self-sufficiency or ‘on-shoring’ of semiconductor chips,” Chang told the APEC trade group, “it would be highly impractical to try to turn back the clock. If it is tried, cost will go up and technology advance may slow.”

 

“What may happen is that, after hundreds of billions and many years have been spent, the result will still be a not-quite-self-sufficient, and high-cost, supply chain,” said Chang.

 

 

Chang acknowledged thst it was prudent for countries to have a chip-making capability for national security applications but added “for the much larger civilian market, a supply chain substantially based on free trade system is by far the best approach.”