San Francisco, Aug. 14 (CNA) Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (???) said Monday that the U.S. public mostly supports Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s (TSMC) under-construction Arizona plant, amid criticism from labor unions over the chipmaker's plan to bring in workers from Taiwan.

Speaking with the press on the sidelines of a forum on the Taiwan-U.S. supply chains and economic and trade cooperation, Wang said that while TSMC had encountered backlash from unionized construction workers in Phoenix over plans to bring in 500 workers from Taiwan, the American public mostly supported the chipmaker.

Wang said that, to her knowledge, the top priority for TSMC was to complete the construction of its fab and start production.

Wang added that she believed TSMC would try its best to take on these difficulties in fab construction by sending experienced workers from Taiwan for a short period of time to create a "win-win situation."

Wang's comments come after the Arizona Pipe Trades 469 Union filed a petition urging U.S. lawmakers to reject TSMC's application to bring in 500 Taiwanese workers on temporary E-2 visas.

In the Business Insider report, the union said as TSMC is seeking billions of dollars in subsidies from US$52 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act President Biden signed into law last summer to encourage semiconductor investments in the U.S., "American jobs should be prioritized."

"Replacing Arizona's construction workers with foreign construction workers directly contradicts the very purpose for which the CHIPS Act was enacted -- to create jobs for American workers," the petition said.

TSMC is investing US$40 billion to build two mega wafer fabs in Phoenix, in order to cater to the demand of its American customers.