Taiwan has imposed a ban on chip exports to Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), two major Chinese companies, due to concerns over the potential misuse of advanced technologies. This decision comes after Huawei was found to have deceived Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) into manufacturing approximately two million advanced AI compute chiplets for Huawei's Ascend 910-series AI processors, despite US restrictions.
As a result of the ban, Huawei and SMIC will now need to obtain export permits from suppliers based in Taiwan to receive manufactured goods. This move affects not only TSMC but also other key semiconductor firms in Taiwan, such as United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), and Nanya Technology Corporation.
The ban is seen as a significant development in the ongoing tech trade tensions between the US and China. Taiwan's Commerce Ministry has added Huawei and SMIC to its strategic high-tech commodities entity list, which already includes entities like the Taliban and al-Qaeda, signifying the severity of the restrictions. This move underscores Taiwan's commitment to adhering to international regulations and pressure from the US government to restrict chip exports to Chinese companies involved in AI and semiconductor development.
