Taiwanese firm TSMC plans to build a new fab, or computer chip factory, in Arizona. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the $12bn investment a boost for American “economic independence” amid China’s creeping dominance in tech. A geopolitical tug-of-war is being fought over nanoscopic wafers of silicon. What do microchips tell us about what’s happening to globalisation? And, as the coronavirus stokes anti-China sentiment, will trade barriers remain no matter who wins November’s election?

John Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor, hosts with Charlotte Howard, New York bureau chief, and Washington correspondent Jon Fasman. Asia technology correspondent Hal Hodson and Soumaya Keynes, trade editor, also join.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: www.economist.com/pod2020.

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