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by SavageBeast 501 days ago
Personally I view the tariffs as a threat to get compliance. Its possible the goal is to get them to "have a brilliant idea" and invest in some American production. I don't know why but Asking Nicely never works for anything, why should international trade be any different.
3 comments
JumpCrisscross 501 days ago
> possible the goal is to get them to "have a brilliant idea" and invest in some American production

TSMC built a massive plant in Arizona. It's been hitting rocks, from frustration over "rigorous working conditions," e.g. people being "called into work for emergencies in the middle of the night," to differences in manufacturing cultures, e.g. "employees were expected to pitch in with work outside their job descriptions because construction of the facility was behind schedule" which "did not sit well with everyone" [1].

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/08/business/tsmc-phoenix-ari...

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fzeroracer 501 days ago
If a person punches you in the face and then offers you a business opportunity, are you more or less likely to accept it?
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talldayo 501 days ago
> I don't know why but Asking Nicely never works for anything, why should international trade be any different.

America literally failed to compete. We had fabs, even competitive and industry-leading ones, for several decades. But Intel didn't adopt EULV and whether or not you agree with their business decision, that left America without a leading node. TSMC and Samsung would take up ASML's EULV spec and the rest is history. America fell off the map with our "14nm+++++ Advanced TurboYield" technology, and the almighty belief in free market competition didn't provide us with a new champion.

The reason tariffs like this are necessary at all is because America cannot sell chips unless the government tips the scales with their fat meaty finger. Nobody wants our chips. Intel and Apple both gave up trying to make laptops on American silicon. AMD and Nvidia both orbit around the EULV suppliers because they're both cheaper and more advanced.

This is a temper-tantrum in response to realizing that government subsidy is the only other way to stimulate production.

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