An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday.

TSMC could send engineers to Intel’s foundry business as part of such a venture, and potentially launch a new entity jointly owned by TSMC and Intel that could benefit from U.S. government funding under the Chips Act, the analysts said. Intel’s foundry business has struggled to keep up with TSMC, losing $13.4 billion in 2024.