After Hours: Good for Business

Summary

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Full Measure After Hours: Good for Business

Host: Sharyl Attkisson
Guest: Greg Jackson (TSMC Executive)
Date: October 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Sharyl Attkisson explores the dramatic resurgence in U.S. manufacturing and investment catalyzed by the policies of the second Trump administration, referred to as the "Trump Effect." The discussion focuses especially on semiconductor production and TSMC's massive factory project in Arizona. Attkisson and guest Greg Jackson provide an in-depth look at the implications for the American economy, national security, and global supply chains.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Trump Effect & U.S. Manufacturing Investment

• Attkisson introduces the episode by highlighting a surge in U.S. manufacturing investments under President Trump’s America First economic agenda.
  • Cites $8.9 trillion in combined U.S. and foreign investments since the start of Trump’s second term (00:30).
  • Major foreign investors include UAE ($1.4T), Qatar ($1.2T), Japan ($1T), among others.
  • Significant tech sector investments are spotlighted, including Apple, Nvidia, and TSMC.

“You won't hear much reporting on this issue...because it is perceived to be something positive happening under the second Trump administration...But you could call it the Trump Effect.” – Sharyl Attkisson (00:16)

2. TSMC’s Arizona Factory – The Cutting Edge of Chip Manufacturing

• Factory Overview:
  Greg Jackson explains TSMC’s Arizona plant is designed for next-generation microchip manufacturing for use in global consumer products, from iPhones to AI processors (03:25).
• Investment Scale:
  The project started with $65B for three factories (fabs), later increasing by an additional $100B – “very massive investment” (03:44).

“It’s unprecedented...very massive investment in the state and in the United States.” – Greg Jackson (03:44)

• Location Choice:
  TSMC chose Arizona due to proximity to major U.S. customers; the decision was made in early 2020 (04:03, 04:19).

3. Drivers Behind Expansion – Customers, Security, and Policy

• Customer Demand:
  The driving force behind expanding U.S. operations is high demand from U.S.-based customers. National security is also a key factor, aligning with U.S. policy objectives (04:37).

• Government Support:
  Visits from administration officials, like the Commerce Secretary, underscore political support for revitalized American manufacturing (05:16).

“He came to demonstrate support and dedication to improving and bringing back American manufacturing back into the country.” – Greg Jackson (05:16)

4. Impact on National Security & Supply Chains

• Reducing Risk:
  Onshoring chip production means less exposure to supply chain disruptions and geopolitical risks.
  • COVID-19 highlighted vulnerabilities in global supply chains (06:41).

“Having semiconductors back in the US...reduces that risk and allows us to really fend for ourselves and be in charge of our own destiny.” – Greg Jackson (06:41)

• Broader Ecosystem Impact:
  Advanced manufacturing supports a full ecosystem of jobs, supply chains, and technology, not just chip-making (05:33).

5. The Case for Reshoring Manufacturing

• Shift in Mentality:
  COVID prompted a re-evaluation of globalization’s benefits and risks.
  • Manufacturing offshoring created new risks during disruptions (07:13).

“While there's benefits of globalization, it also creates a lot of unforeseen risks...Bringing manufacturing back to the US really helps to assist, to leverage our country.” – Greg Jackson (07:13)

• Chips in Daily Life:
  Semiconductors now power nearly every electronic device, increasing their strategic importance (07:56).

6. The Transformation of American Chip Manufacturing

• Historical Context:
  U.S. chip production had declined to 10% or less of global output; new investments are reversing this trend, especially for advanced chips (09:06).

“If you look over the years, we've dropped to somewhere around 10% or less. Chips made in the United States. Now we're bringing that back...and bringing it back in the most advanced technology.” – Greg Jackson (09:06)

7. Policy, Politics, and the TSMC Decision

• Policy Support:
  Jackson describes strong federal support (e.g., the CHIPS Act), reduced regulatory barriers, and political vision as crucial to accelerating U.S. chip manufacturing (10:40–11:11).
  • He emphasizes customer demand as the original factor behind site selection but acknowledges meaningful government assistance.

“I think the policies that have put in place are really helping to drive the construction and manufacturing here and also removing some of the roadblocks...” – Greg Jackson (11:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This factory creates next gen or advanced technology, microchips that are used within consumer products all around the world…from cell phones to tablets to even AI chips.” – Greg Jackson (03:25)
• “Having advanced semiconductors here in the US…it creates the jobs, it also creates the supply chain that allows the United States to grow and de risks us from other geopolitical issues...” – Greg Jackson (06:03)
• “Many people's houses have grown from one or two devices on a network to dozens. So everything we use in this day and age is reliant on some type of computer chip.” – Greg Jackson (07:56)
• “A lot of focus has gone into building factories and ramping the factories up here in the United States.” – Greg Jackson (10:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:04–01:21 — Introduction to the Trump Effect and Investment Surge
• 03:18–03:40 — TSMC Factory Explained Simply
• 03:44–03:57 — Investment Size in Arizona Plant
• 04:19–04:31 — Timeline for U.S. Site Selection & Groundbreaking
• 05:16–05:27 — Commerce Secretary’s Visit and Federal Support
• 06:03–06:41 — National Security, Onshoring, and Supply Chain Risks
• 07:13–07:47 — Changing Mentality about Offshoring and Reshoring
• 09:06–09:22 — U.S. Chip Production Share & Significance of New Factories
• 10:40–11:11 — Role of Policy and Administration Support

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Episode Tone & Style

Sharyl Attkisson maintains a critical, investigative tone throughout, challenging mainstream media coverage, while Greg Jackson remains technical and measured, highlighting business drivers and national interests without partisan emphasis.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a detailed look at how large-scale manufacturing, business, and government policy intersect in the context of U.S. economic revitalization—specifically spotlighting the semiconductor industry as a case study. It’s essential listening for anyone interested in the economic and security implications of manufacturing policy in the U.S.

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Transcript

[Greg Jackson]

Foreign.

[Cheryl Akison]

Hi everybody, it's Cheryl Akisson. Welcome to another edition of Full Measure After Hours. We're in the midst of an unprecedented resurgence in US Manufacturing as promised by President Trump, what it means to all of us and to national security. You won't hear much reporting on this issue, at least the take that you'll be hearing today in this podcast because it is perceived to be something positive happening under the second Trump administration and a lot of the media will not report accurately on such things, or at least they'll leave out a lot of facts because they don't want to help this president whom they dislike. But you could call it the Trump Effect. That's what the White House is calling it. In fact, since President Trump returned to office, his America first economic policies have sparked trillions of dollars in in new investment in US Manufacturing, technology and infrastructure. I'm reading now from the site that I encourage you to visit whitehouse.gov investments and here you can see an incredible list of a surge in private and foreign investment in the United States that are fueling jobs and opportunity in many sections of this country. For the White House puts total US in foreign investment as a result of the second Trump administration efforts, at least in part as a result of that at $8.9 trillion. Leading that pack is foreign investment by the United Arab Emirates in manufacturing, industry, technology and aerospace and energy, an investment of $1.4 trillion followed by other investments by Qatar $1.2 trillion Japan $1 trillion Apple $600 billion Saudi Arabia 600 billion EU firms in a trade deal 600 billion SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle 500 billion Nvidia 500 billion India 500 billion South Korea 450 billion investment Micron, Jira, IBM and a company called TSMC in Arizona that stands for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. And that's where we are going on my TV program Full Measure. Sunday, November 2nd, I'll be taking a look at the Trump resurgence in manufacturing through the eyes of this state of the art chip factory that's going to be manufacturing chips to power everything from iPhones to artificial intelligence. And if you have watched my program over the years, you've seen me report from Europe and other places on how chip building is critical. But we have been over relying on China for those chips. It's a national security issue. So this investment goes a long way toward trying to remedy some of that. Today you'll be hearing from Greg Jackson, an executive that I spoke to on site in Arizona at tsmc. So here's Greg Jackson.

For people that don't know much about the technology and all the details. How would you, in a paragraph, simply explain this factory?

[Greg Jackson]

So this factory creates next gen or advanced technology, microchips that are used within consumer products all around the world. They range from cell phones to tablets to even AI chips that are used in advanced processors.

[Cheryl Akison]

How big is this investment? If you can characterize that for us, this is massive.

[Greg Jackson]

It's unprecedented. We initially announced up to $65 billion of investment through the first three fabs, and then we came back and added in another $100 billion of investment. So very massive investment in the state and in the United States.

[Cheryl Akison]

Do you know what made the company first of all decide not just to be in the US but to be in Arizona?

[Greg Jackson]

Certainly, Ulta. We go to where our customers are located at, that a very large majority of our revenue comes from the US So it just makes sense to go where our customers are located at.

[Cheryl Akison]

And that was a decision made in the 2020 time period?

[Greg Jackson]

Yeah, late, early, probably early 2020 time frame that decision was made. We broke ground in April of 2021 and began construction on our first factory and this office building that we're in now.

[Cheryl Akison]

So what factored into the decision to do the giant expansion on top of what you already had here?

[Greg Jackson]

Again, it comes back to our customers. Our customers. Demand is driving what we're doing here. Add into that the benefit of national security that ties into what the United States is trying to do. What, what's happening here as well.

I would say that President Trump feels strongly about growing many countries in the United States. We're a good example of that. Secretary Lincoln came to see the site, see our progress.

It's really just a focus on manufacturing.

When we had just broken ground on the third battle.

[Cheryl Akison]

Okay, Commerce Secretary was here in the early days of the Trump administration. What was that about?

[Greg Jackson]

So he came to demonstrate the support and dedication to improving and bringing back American manufacturing back in to the country.

[Cheryl Akison]

As far as you know, how does this factor into President Trump's idea for a resurgence of US Manufacturing?

[Greg Jackson]

This is a great example of resurgence of manufacturing. We're bringing in a large amount of jobs, a large amount of very technically skilled jobs. So this is a prime example of bringing back manufacturing into the United States. It's not just creating the semiconductors. It's all of the ecosystem that goes around making semiconductors. It's everything that ties into it as well.

[Cheryl Akison]

What do you see as the benefit to American citizens to have a plant, even though this is still run by a foreign company, but here on US soil.

[Greg Jackson]

So having advanced semiconductors here in the US on the soil, it creates the jobs, it also creates the supply chain that allows the United States to grow and de risks us from other geopolitical issues around the world.

[Cheryl Akison]

In really simple terms, if you're trying to explain this to your kids or people that don't know much about this industry, how has it been a precarious thing for us to rely so much on foreign produced chips which are. Maybe people don't understand how important they are to all of our everyday products, but then again to be relying on getting them from countries that may not always want to do the best for us. Talk about that equation.

[Greg Jackson]

So I think if you look back to the COVID time, there was a lot of risk that came in from the supply chain by having things spread out all over the world. You know, the port shut down, the airport shut down, people were unavailable to come to work. Having semiconductors back in the US onshore reduces that risk and allows us to really fend for ourselves and be in charge of our own destiny.

[Cheryl Akison]

And do you think there's sort of a shift in the mentality in this country, at least among a lot of people, as to what was wise for us to do in terms of manufacturing?

[Greg Jackson]

Yeah, I think over the last 50 years a lot of manufacturing was offshored. And I think Covid really opened people's eyes into. While there's benefits of globalization, it also creates a lot of unforeseen risks. Shipping things on a boat three months overseas really creates a lot of unforeseen risk. So bringing things back, bringing manufacturing back to the US really helps to assist, to leverage our country.

[Cheryl Akison]

And can you explain what this company does in really simple terms and how important chips are to Americans if they don't understand how they're used in so many of our products?

[Greg Jackson]

So computer chips are used in everything. And it starts with your cell phones, to your tablets, to your cars, your vehicles. Many people's houses have grown from one or two devices on a network to dozens. So everything we use in this day and age is reliant on some type of computer chip.

[Cheryl Akison]

And before this plant, where were we getting, where are we getting most of our chips from? Do you have any idea of sort of the global picture of that, the market?

[Greg Jackson]

This is today on the most advanced chips being made on American soil. But this is not the first chip factory in the United States. You know, significant is again how it's the biggest. This is 4 nanometer, obviously 3 nanometers. So I don't want to make it seem like this is the first time.

[Cheryl Akison]

Okay. All right. With, with other companies included, is it a game changer that the US Is ramping up its chip manufacturing compared to maybe where we were some years ago when it was not looking ahead this big of an industry here?

[Greg Jackson]

I think it really changes the landscape. I mean, if you look over the years, we've dropped to somewhere around 10% or less. Chips made in the United States. Now we're bringing that back into the United States and bringing it back in the most advanced technology into the United States.

[Cheryl Akison]

And what was the other thing you wanted?

[Greg Jackson]

You asked a question earlier about our, you know, is the president's policies helping? And you give a short answer. I, I think it's okay. I might encourage you because I think it's going to give you better content for yourself. But still, it's okay for us. It's just a sort of step back. And again, remind that, you know, our decision to invest in the United States was motivated by our customers. The government support's important. I think it's okay to go back in time and say, you know, our first announcement was made during Trump's first term. And of course, we were communicating with his administration at the time. You know, today this is also a priority for him and the relationship is good and the support always.

[Cheryl Akison]

Okay, I have a question that we're good at that then.

[Greg Jackson]

Yeah. So I'm trying to figure out, like, I think you could have said a little more without, like, getting mired politics.

Yeah, exactly. They are getting some federal money.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So anyways, I just thought. And you probably could use them a little better. There's a way for you without getting.

Exactly.

[Cheryl Akison]

And again, I don't want you to put you in the position of advocating, and I don't feel like that's what you're doing. But President Trump is very clear taking a lot of credit for the resurgences that are taking place so far, including, I believe, the expansion of this factory. But what role would you say, the support from an administration that has this goal, what role has that played in this company?

[Greg Jackson]

So if you look back several years ago, back into the first term, we announced building a factory here in the United States. Since then, the CHIPS act has come, and we've progressed with building the first factory, got the first factory into production, and have continued on building the second and third factory as well. So a lot of focus has gone into building factories and ramping the factories up here in the United States.

[Cheryl Akison]

But it makes a difference or doesn't make a difference as to to the stated policy of who's in charge and what their vision is.

[Greg Jackson]

I think the policies that have put in place are really helping to drive the construction and manufacturing here and also removing some of the roadblocks that might exist as well related to policies or things like that.

[Cheryl Akison]

For my program Sunday on Full Measure, not only do we have the story of TSMC with Greg Jackson, but I spoke to an executive from another company that is investing in the area. Also the mayor of a town that's benefiting from all of this and wrapping it all up in my cover story. You can go to cheryl Atkison.com and click the Full Measure tab to see a list of stations and times to watch Full Measure. Or you can just watch online Sundays at around 10 o' clock Eastern Time in the morning at FullMeasure News and then the stories are posted there afterwards at Fullmeasure News. Also on our unadvertised YouTube channel, Full Measure with Cheryl Akison. I hope you enjoy today's podcast and that you will check out my other podcast, the Cheryl Akison Podcast. Share this with your friends, subscribe to it and leave us a terrific review. If you haven't already checked out my latest bestseller, Follow the Science How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails. I hope you'll consider picking up a copy today with proceeds benefiting independent reporting causes. And also go to cherylakisson.com and click the Store tab for some exciting products where again, proceeds benefit independent reporting. There are some exclusive products designed for independent thinkers like you and your friends, with slogans like I need to find some new conspiracy theories. All my old ones came true. And do your own research, make up your own mind, think for yourself.