HSINCHU, Taiwan, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. tariffs are

having some impact but demand for artificial intelligence (AI)

remains strong and continues to outpace supply, the chief

executive of Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC said on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies have created

much uncertainty for the global chip industry and TSMC, the top

producer of the world's most advanced semiconductors whose

customers include Apple ( AAPL ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ).

C.C. Wei, speaking at the company's annual shareholders

meeting in the northern Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, said they

have not seen any changes in customer behaviour due to tariff

uncertainty and the situation may become clearer in coming

months.

"Tariffs do have some impact on TSMC, but not directly.

That's because tariffs are imposed on importers, not exporters.

TSMC is an exporter. However, tariffs can lead to slightly

higher prices, and when prices go up, demand may go down," he

said.

"If demand drops, TSMC's business could be affected. But I

can assure you that AI demand has always been very strong and

it's consistently outpacing supply."

In April, the company, the world's largest contract

chipmaker, gave a bullish outlook for the year on robust demand

for AI applications.

In a sign of the strength of demand, Wei said TSMC's job

is to provide its customers "with enough chips, and we're

working hard on that. 'Working hard' means it's still not

enough."

Wei also commented on media reports that the company has

been evaluating building chip factories in the United Arab

Emirates, saying they have no plans for any such plants in the

Middle East.