Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has an enviable position as the world's dominant manufacturer of advanced chips. However, the Taiwanese company is struggling to carry out its expansion plans in the U.S. and elsewhere simultaneously, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Taiwan Semiconductor, or TSMC, said last year that it planned to build a second plant in Japan's Kumamoto prefecture, as part of a $20 billion investment plan. However, the facility faces delays as TSMC focuses on investment in the U.S., the WSJ reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

It's a reminder that TSMC could find it difficult to balance its commitments to the Trump administration and other national governments which are all racing to build out domestic chip manufacturing. TSMC has pledged a total of $165 billion in U.S. investment, including building three new chip plants.

TSMC declined to comment on whether the Japanese plant had been delayed.

"TSMC's global manufacturing expansion strategy is based on customers' needs, business opportunities, operating efficiency, the level of government support and cost economic considerations," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Barron's. "Our investment plans in the U.S. will not impact our existing investment plans in other regions."

TSMC is the main supplier of chips for Nvidia, which leads the market for semiconductors used for AI applications. TSMC also makes the core processors inside Apple iPhones, Qualcomm mobile chipsets, and processors made by Advanced Micro Devices.

TSMC faces difficult questions over how much of its manufacturing it will base outside of its home country. Taiwanese lawmakers recently passed a law to ensure TSMC's latest manufacturing technology remains in Taiwan and its facilities overseas are at least one generation behind, according to local media.

Another issue for the company is whether multiple investment programs in different countries will lead to excessive capacity.

TSMC has said it intends to manufacture chips using its newest 2-nanometer process in Arizona as early as 2028. However, that is several years behind its timeline for 2nm production in Taiwan, suggesting there will still be a period when U.S. companies have to import leading-edge chips.

So far TSMC has avoided being subject to any tariffs, after the White House exempted semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, PCs and smartphones from its planned levies. However, potential tariffs on chips are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce under a law which allows the president to impose duties on imports that are considered a national security threat.

US-listed shares of TSMC shares closed up 0.5% on Friday.