TSMC facing challenges as free trade falters, Bloomberg reports

At a TSMC (TSM) event, founder Morris Chang said the company will soon face its “most severe” challenges in driving growth as free trade of semiconductors falters, Bloomberg’s Jane Lanhee Lee and Debby Wu report. “TSMC is now truly a turf all major powers want to secure,” Chang said at a company event in Hsinchu on Saturday. The Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA) supplier makes 99% of the world’s AI accelerators, though it is restricted from making the most powerful AI semiconductors for Chinese customers, Bloomberg notes. At the event, TSMC CEO C.C. WEi said the company’s new plant in Arizona is “progressing well.”