[hobobaggins]

> Is “don’t buy stuff with TSMC chips” really a valid option we have?

Not sure that TSMC would want to do that either! We're probably their biggest market, even allowing for China.

> Isn’t that basically “stop buying high technology” to a large degree?

I think you're right, to an extent, at leastt in the near term.

However, we do have (and especially used to have) various fabbing here in the States, from Samsung to Intel. Especially the latter has been neglected, but these changes would probably accelerate on-shoring and perhaps bring some of it back here.

Don't forget that TSMC is in a country that is probably going to go through some significant instability in the next few years. From a business continuity perspective, we'd need to consider availability and supply chain management with the strong possibility of a major vendor being located in the middle of a hot warzone.

[MBCook]

I’m not arguing TSMC is in a good place geopolitically. I agree there’s a huge risk there.

I just don’t think “don’t use TSMC“ is a realistic choice at all right now.

That’s like telling someone in rural Montana “just don’t use a car”. If you want to live a normal life it’s not very doable.