Chip war: Government should stockpile semiconductors, best-selling author says

The global manufacturing of technological goods such as laptops, iPhones, whiteware and cars is dependent on a single commodity that’s made almost exclusively in Taiwan.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) makes 90 per cent of the advanced semiconductors, or chips, needed for technology, the author of best-selling book Chip War, Chris Miller, told Markets with Madison.

“If we were to lose access to TSMC, we would face the greatest disruption to manufacturing since the great depression.”

He suggested governments, including our own, should stockpile semiconductors in case tensions in Taiwan escalate.

Investor Warren Buffet sold his entire stake in TSMC earlier this year over geopolitical concerns.

In this episode, Miller explains the dominance of market players like TSMC and Nvidia and why they’re almost impossible to compete with.

He also discusses why their multibillion-dollar efforts to make more chips in the United States and Europe won’t provide enough diversification.

Get investment insights from the experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday on the NZ Herald.

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Madison Reidy is the host of New Zealand’s only financial markets show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.