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| A chip is displayed at the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI) in Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang |
WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - A Chinese invasion of Taiwan could possibly stop production by the world's greatest advanced semiconductor chip producer, wiping away much to $1 trillion per year from the global economy every year in the first few years, the top U.S. intelligence officer warned on Thursday.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines provided what she termed a "general estimate" during hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
She added that the sophisticated semiconductor chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd (TSMC) are utilized in 90 percent of "almost every category of electronic device around the world."
If a Chinese invasion prevented TSMC from creating such chips, "it will have an enormous global financial impact that I think runs somewhere between $600 billion to $1 trillion on an annual basis for the first few years," she added.
"It will also have an impact on our (U.S.) GDP if there was such an invasion of Taiwan and that (TSMC's production) was blocked," Haines added. "It would also have an impact, if they stopped making chips, on China's economy."