Chipmaking in Taiwan: who is exposed
20 countries reach a published materiality line on at least one channel: 5 are named in a released brief (●) and 15 are not (○). 8 have at least one High band. Taiwan is the primary country of this theme and carries no band.
Each country’s band is its highest channel band, from the published lines below. Our briefs on the theme: X-001. Choose a country for its page.
Map
HighMediumLowPrimary countryNot included
Natural Earth 1:110m; small states (Bahrain, Singapore) are too small to draw at this scale and are listed. Boundaries as drawn by the source; no position on any dispute is implied.
Ranked
By band, then the number of High, Medium and Low channels. ● named in a released brief, ○ not named.
- TaiwanPrimary country, not banded
- South Korea○3H 2M
- Japan●3H 1M
- United States●3H 1M
- Singapore○2H 3M
- Malaysia○2H 2M
- Thailand○2H 1M
- Vietnam○1H 1M
- Philippines●1H
- China●4M 1L
- India○3M
- Germany●2M 1L
- Israel○1M 1L
- Mexico○1M 1L
- France○1M
- Netherlands○1M
- Qatar○1M
- Brazil○1L
- Canada○1L
- Hong Kong○1L
- United Kingdom○1L
Every included country, its band, its channels and its lead figure.
The table: 20 countries
| Country | In a brief | Band | Channels | Lead figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | Named | Primary country | Chip-using industryPrimary country | 33% of wafer revenue Primary country, Q2 2026 |
| South Korea | Not named | High | Chip importsAdvanced logicAlternative capacity (gain)Chip-using industryEquipment and materials | 55.4% Advanced logic, 2025 |
| Japan | Named | High | Chip importsAdvanced logicEquipment and materialsHost fabs | 59.8% Chip imports, 2025 |
| United States | Named | High | Advanced logicHost fabsEquipment and materialsChip imports | 92%est. Advanced logic, 2024 |
| Singapore | Not named | High | Chip importsChip-using industryAdvanced logicHost fabsEquipment and materials | 47.8% Chip imports, 2025 |
| Malaysia | Not named | High | Chip importsChip-using industryAdvanced logicAlternative capacity (gain) | 47.3% of goods exports Chip-using industry, 2025 |
| Thailand | Not named | High | Chip importsAdvanced logicChip-using industry | 48.1% Chip imports, 2025 |
| Vietnam | Not named | High | Chip-using industryChip imports | 40.7% of goods exports Chip-using industry, 2023 |
| Philippines | Named | High | Chip importsChip-using industry | 55% of goods exports Chip-using industry, 2025 |
| China | Named | Medium | Chip importsAdvanced logicChip-using industryAlternative capacity (gain)Host fabs | 35.9% Chip imports, 2025 |
| India | Not named | Medium | Chip importsAdvanced logicHost fabs | 28.1% Chip imports, 2025 |
| Germany | Named | Medium | Advanced logicHost fabsChip imports | 28.6% Advanced logic, 2025 |
| Israel | Not named | Medium | Chip-using industryChip imports | 24.4% of goods exports Chip-using industry, 2025 |
| Mexico | Not named | Medium | Chip-using industryChip imports | 29.7% of goods exports Chip-using industry, 2025 |
| France | Not named | Medium | Chip imports | 30.4% Chip imports, 2025 |
| Netherlands | Not named | Medium | Equipment and materials | 22% of system salesest. Equipment and materials, 2025 |
| Qatar | Not named | Medium | Gas inputs | 30–88%est. Gas inputs, 2025-2026 |
| Brazil | Not named | Low | Chip imports | 17.7% Chip imports, 2025 |
| Canada | Not named | Low | Chip imports | 22.8% Chip imports, 2025 |
| Hong Kong | Not named | Low | Chip imports | 23% Chip imports, 2025 |
| United Kingdom | Not named | Low | Chip imports | 19.1% Chip imports, 2025 |
Lead figures come from the country readings, researched from public sources and kept in our country dossiers; a figure from press or commentary is marked est.
How a country is included and banded.
A published judgement, reviewed when a new theme is added. A low-confidence figure alone caps a band at Medium.
A country is in the theme if its headline metric on at least one channel reaches that channel's inclusion line, or if it is the primary country (Taiwan). A country named in a brief but below every line is dropped unless the brief makes it central: central here means primary on a brief item, or a host of a TSMC fab named on X-001's fab table. Bands are set per channel; a country's theme band is its highest exposure-channel band. The 'alternative capacity' channel measures a stake that can gain, not a loss, and is shown as an opportunity band.
- Chip imports High ≥40% · Medium 25–40% · Low 15–25%Share of electronic integrated circuit (HS 8542) imports from Taiwan, by value. Included from ≥15% and imports ≥US$1bn a year. Raise one band where chip-using exports (electronics or semiconductors) are at least 40% of goods exports, or where the advanced-logic share (HS 854231 from Taiwan) is at least 50%. Hub reporters are not raised for re-export alone.
- Advanced logic High ≥50% · Medium 25–50%Share of processor and controller (HS 854231) imports from Taiwan, or an official statement of leading-edge dependence. Included from ≥25% and imports ≥US$1bn a year
- Chip-using industry High ≥40% · Medium 20–40%Electronics or semiconductor exports as % of goods exports (the industries that stop when chips stop). Included from ≥20% of goods exports, together with chip-imports ≥15% from Taiwan or the country hosting packaging of Taiwan-made dies
- Host fabs High ≥20 · Medium 5–20 · Low 1–5, or an operating fab without a disclosed figureInvestment by TSMC or another Taiwanese foundry (or its licensed partner) in fabs on the country's soil, US$bn. Included from ≥1, or a TSMC fab on X-001's fab table
- Equipment and materials High ≥25% · Medium 15–25%Share of the country's semiconductor equipment exports (HS 8486), or of its national champions' sales, going to Taiwan. Included from ≥15% and ≥US$1bn a year. Raise one band where the country's firms hold more than half of a world market for an input Taiwan's fabs cannot replace within a year (Japanese photoresist and silicon wafers; Dutch EUV lithography).
- Gas inputs High ≥50% · Medium 25–50%Country's share of Taiwan's imports of helium or neon (supplier side). Included from ≥25%
- Alternative capacity (gain) High ≥20 of sub-10nm capacity · Medium ≥5 of foundry revenue or ≥10 of assembly-packaging-test · Low ≥3 of foundry revenue or a projected ≥10 of sub-10nm capacityShare of world foundry revenue held by the country's firms outside Taiwan, or share of world sub-10nm logic capacity. Included from ≥3% of foundry revenue, or ≥10 of sub-10nm capacity (now or projected for 2032), or ≥10 of world assembly-packaging-test
- Primary country High always (primary country)Taiwan: share of TSMC wafer revenue from nodes made only in Taiwan; IC exports. Included from Taiwan (primary in X-001)
General lines
- 15% of a country's chip (HS 8542) imports supplied from Taiwan is the floor for inclusion, with at least US$1bn of chip imports a year: Taiwan supplies about a fifth of most large importers' chips, so a 10% line would include almost every reporter; below 15% other origins (Malaysia, Korea, China) usually dominate and a Taiwan stop is a second-order loss.
- US$1bn a year is the inclusion line where a channel is measured in money (chip imports, fab investment, equipment sales).
- Chip-using exports measured against a country's goods exports: 20% is the inclusion line, 40% the High line.
- Taiwan is UN Comtrade partner code 490, 'Other Asia, nes'. Reporter (importer) data are used; Taiwan does not report to Comtrade. Hub reporters (Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam) re-export or process much of what they import; their shares are marked as hub figures.
WS-022 point 3 and WS-023 point 2: a figure from press or commentary is kept with confidence low and shown as an estimate; it can include a country, but a low-confidence figure alone caps a band at Medium.