[tarkin2]

If something happens to Taiwan, the USA will have given a huge military advantage to its biggest adversary.

It's going to take decades for the USA to catch up with Taiwan, and once China has its grip on the fabs they'll only further advance them.

In an existential crisis, the chances of Taiwan's leadership doing a deal with China when it's military protector retreats from its former declarations is in no way low.

It'll be the end of American military dominance but in fitting with the US's repeated isolationist trajectory.

[Mountain_Skies]

How did that come to be? The US used to be the world leader in chip manufacturing and that wasn't all that long ago. Why was something so critical given away so freely?

[xadhominemx]

It was not given away - it was won by the Taiwanese, who bet on the fabless-foundry business model and executed magnificently.

[SJC_Hacker]

I’m no expert but I believe it’s because Taiwan bet heavily on a process known as Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV).

The US companies cough Intel cough did not. Which is part of the reason they are laying off workers