Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world's largest contract maker of chips that have become the lifeblood of the global economy, powering everything from smartphones to missiles.

The chipmaker of choice for tech giants Nvidia and Apple reported sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion) for April, up 48.1 percent from a year earlier and 22.2 percent from March.

Trump announced hefty tariffs against America's trade partners on April 2 before pausing them for 90 days, prompting companies in the United States to ramp up imports.

TSMC's sales in March had risen 10 percent on the previous month, Bloomberg News reported.

Revenue in the first four months of the year rose 43.5 percent on-year to NT$1.2 trillion, the company said.

The firm has been in the crosshairs of Trump, who has accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry.

There had been hopes TSMC's plan to invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States would shield Taiwan from new tariffs.

Trump still imposed a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports as part of his sweeping tariffs, but excluded semiconductors.

Washington has launched "national security" probes into the sector, which could pave the way for levies on semiconductors and chipmaking equipment.

The recent surge of the Taiwan dollar could also pressure TSMC's margins as most of its business is done in US dollars.