How Silicon Valley has long ignored China's looming Taiwan invasion and its chip supply impact; US officials warned Apple, AMD, and Qualcomm about China's plans
New York Times Tripp Mickle
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Discussion
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@ryanl_hass
Ryan Hass
on x
1/ Flagging this important deep dive on the symbiosis between US tech companies and Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem. The piece highlights several important points: - There is no near-term substitute for chips produced in Taiwan; (short 🧵) https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@ryanl_hass
Ryan Hass
on x
2/ - Even chips produced in Arizona still need to be sent back to Taiwan for packaging to be transformed into leading AI chips; - Taiwan increasingly is being discussed in national security policy circles as a risk to be mitigated instead of a partner to be embraced;
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@ryanl_hass
Ryan Hass
on x
3/ - Banging the drums of war has not been terribly persuasive during Biden or Trump administrations in getting US tech firms to alter their decisions; - Cutting the supply of chips from Taiwan would lead to the largest global economic crisis since the Great Depression;
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@ryanl_hass
Ryan Hass
on x
4/ - The US is on solid ground pressing for more chip production in the US. It would be irresponsible not to hedge that national security risk; - At the same time, US leaders must understand the time horizons required for ramping up domestic production of chips;
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@brad_setser
Brad Setser
on x
Great story in the New York Times highlighting the difficulties that the US government has faced in getting the world's most profitable companies to take supply chain security seriously, and reduce their exposure to a crisis in the Taiwan straights 1/ [image]
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@dalzell60
Michael D. Swaine
on x
This piece is a mix of fact and distortion. There is no realistic scenario in which China seizes control of Taiwan's high-tech manufacturing capabilities and then uses it successfully to leverage the West. A Chinese kinetic action against Taiwan would likely destroy or severely…
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@firstadopter
Tae Kim
on x
Incredible reporting from @trippmickle A must read https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@autismcapital
@autismcapital
on x
🚨 BREAKING: The New York Times reports that Tim Cook of Apple and other top tech executives were warned that China could attack Taiwan by 2027 and that they should plan accordingly. [image]
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@jyarow
Jay Yarow
on x
Interesting programming and counter programming in the NYT and WSJ today [image]
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@ali_wyne
Ali Wyne
on x
.@trippmickle notes that “with Taiwan, China, and other countries also pouring billions into semiconductor plants, the United States would still account for only 10 percent of the world's semiconductor production in 2030.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@jimpethokoukis
James Pethokoukis
on x
“... cutting the supply of chips from Taiwan would lead to the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression. U.S. economic output would plunge 11 percent, twice as much as the 2008 recession.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@kaitlancollins
Kaitlan Collins
on x
“The single biggest threat to the world economy, the single biggest point of single failure, is that 97 percent of the high-end chips are made in Taiwan,” Bessent said. “If that island were blockaded, that capacity were destroyed, it would be an economic apocalypse.”
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@pstasiatech
Paul Triolo
on x
In addition, the Chips Act funding was just not sufficient to materially move the needle in an industry driven by massive capex requirements. Any serious onshoring strategy requires long term commitment and attention to entire ecosystem. This was not the case here, similar to
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@pstasiatech
Paul Triolo
on x
Couple of additional thoughts. No, Silicon Valley has not ignored anything. When there are no good alternatives, you go with what works. Also, most of the variables here are outside the control of a single company.
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@pstasiatech
Paul Triolo
on x
The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored Good summary of a situation I have written about for nearly a decade...but misses a lot.... https://www.nytimes.com/... via @NYTimes
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@jamestobyne
@jamestobyne
on x
Kind of weird how the NYTimes made this image seem ominous using what appears to be Taiwanese aboriginal patterns and design ... The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
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@jessefelder
Jesse Felder
on bluesky
‘A Chinese blockade of Taiwan could choke the supply of computer chips made on the island and bring the U.S. tech industry to its knees. Two presidents have tried persuading the industry to change. But warnings, gifts and threats have made little difference.’ www.nytimes.com/20…
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@tonyromm
Tony Romm
on bluesky
some really great, important reporting here on how U.S. dependence on Taiwan for chips — and tech giants' refusal to do something about it — poses dire risks for the economy in the event China targets the country www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/t...
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@arik.org
Arik Hesseldahl
on bluesky
When I worked for Electronic News (RIP) in the late 1990s I tried to write a “what if” scenario story concerning a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and the economic implications of losing access to TSMC and UMC. No one in the industry nor in the Clinton Administration would engage on …
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@patrickgaley
Patrick Galey
on bluesky
Did it really require the NYT to “review documents and interview 60 people across the tech industry” to realise that having 90% of an entire industry's apex product manufactured by one company on machines made by one other company might not be a great way to operate? www.nytimes.…
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@mcbridetd
Timothy McBride
on bluesky
This is really a huge problem that no one is considering. The consequences could be devstating on every day life — The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored - The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/t...
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@terigoodson
Teri Goodson
on bluesky
“A Chinese blockade of Taiwan, the officials said, could choke the supply of computer chips made on the island and bring the U.S. tech industry to its knees.” — www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/t...
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The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored | If China invades Taiwan and cuts off its chip exports to American companies …
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The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored
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The Looming Taiwan Chip Disaster That Silicon Valley Has Long Ignored