TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan should follow the global trend of localization and establish more complete domestic supply chains, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Vice President Douglas Yu (余振華) said Friday (Sept. 8).

Yu was speaking about the country’s semiconductor sector in general, CNA reported. He said supply chains were too long and were therefore at risk of being cut off.

One of the reasons is that Taiwan’s chip industry prioritized professionalization, with stages of the manufacturing process in the hands of different contractors, he said. The practice has led to long supply chains for specialized machinery and raw materials, increasing the risk of disruption, according to Yu.

The TSMC executive told a forum in Taipei the trend was more localization and less globalization to reduce risks to the supply chain. He called on schools to start training talent for the numerous opportunities likely to arise in the near future as new techniques, materials, and equipment emerge in the industry.

Yu said TSMC encouraged innovation, which was the reason for the success of Taiwan’s semiconductor sector. The company has been working on new fab projects in the United States, Japan, Germany, and Taiwan.