Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Apex Symposium, Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin warned that losing access to Taiwanese semiconductor chips would cause the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) to decline by 8% within six months, triggering a modern “Great Depression” because Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) microchips are embedded in “every high-end product” manufactured today.
Immediate Industrial Paralysis
Griffin emphasized that a military escalation or blockade around Taiwan creates a dangerous “bad equilibrium” with absolutely no winners. Because Taiwan Semiconductor completely dominates the global supply chain for advanced silicon, a sudden disruption would paralyze core American industrial and technology sectors almost overnight.
“Boeing stops making planes in six months,” Griffin stated, illustrating the scale of the systemic vulnerability. “Most new cars stop being manufactured in six months. Consumer electronics stop being made in six months. Everything freezes.”
The billionaire investor noted that the fallout would severely damage the Asian superpower as well. Putting the American economy into a tailspin would trigger severe “draconian knock down effects” for China’s domestic economy, given how massive the United States remains as a primary export destination for global goods.
The Global Innovation Threat
Beyond the immediate semiconductor crisis, Griffin urged Western leaders to wake up to the broader reality of Chinese technological advancement.
He pointed out that China currently leads the world in approximately 67 to 68 out of 75 critical technologies, including solar energy, electric vehicle batteries, and quantum computing, fueled by an intense institutional focus on STEM degrees.
To counter this cold economic reality, Griffin asserted that protectionist trade policies are insufficient. “The most important thing we could do as a country is not tariffs,” Griffin insisted.
“We need to educate our youth to be able to stand their ground and out compete, out innovate, and out problem solve their contemporaries across the ocean.”
The interview concluded with reflections on market risk management, where Griffin emphasized that while asset allocators can never hedge against every tail event, they must monitor exposures to ensure worst-case losses remain completely tolerable.
How Has TSM Performed In 2026?
TSM shares were up 45.86% year-to-date, up 2.38% over the last month, and higher by 91.77% over the year. It closed unchanged at $436.96 per share on Thursday and was down 0.12% in overnight trading.
Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TSM maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a good growth score.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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