@BOB @deprecated_ii I don't think much expertise was given to Taiwan.

The reason TSMC has the fastest process nodes is because they were willing to take the risk and invest billions of dollars into fabrication equipment by paying the one company that makes EUV equipment and got lucky enough to be able to mitigate process node issues.

Any company in a non-sactioned country that wants to take the risk and pay the fortune to that lithography equipment company and setup a production line to the necessary standard could make processors just as fast as TSMC, but no country seems to be willing to.

Designing microprocessors is insanely complicated, but what's even more important for making them is workers that can construct clean rooms to the necessary standard and get all of the machines working.