TSMC has started discussions with customers about orders and pricing for its overseas plants, which are set to begin commercial production in late 2024.

The rumours are that prices of chips produced using TSMC's N4 and N5 technologies in the US will be 20-30 per cent higher than those in Taiwan, while older process chips produced in Japan's Kumamoto facility on N28/N22, as well as N16/N12 nodes, may cost 10-15 per cent more.

American chip designers are unlikely to care much because they should be able to pass those extra costs on to their customers without risking their competitive positions. Given the high construction and operational costs of fabs in Japan and the US, TSMC will pass those extra expenses on to customers to maintain its gross margin target of 53 per cent.