- Restrictions on TSMC on exporting advanced 7nm+ chips destined for China and used in AI projects
Washington: The United States ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which are often used in artificial intelligence applications, starting Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Commerce Department sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on certain high-end chips, 7nm or more advanced, destined for China that power its AI accelerator and graphics processing units (GPUs), the person said.
The US order, which was first reported, comes just weeks after TSMC notified the Commerce Department that one of its chips had been found in a Huawei AI processor, as Reuters reported last month. Tech research firm Tech Insights dismantled the product, revealing a TSMC chip and an apparent violation of export controls.
Huawei, at the heart of the US action, is on the restricted trade list, which requires suppliers to obtain licenses to ship any goods or technology to the company. Any license that could aid Huawei’s AI efforts will likely be denied.
TSMC suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo after its chip matched the one in Huawei’s AI processor, sources told Reuters last month.
Reuters was unable to determine how the chip ended up in Huawei’s Ascend 910B processor, released in 2022, which is seen as the most advanced AI chip available from a Chinese company.
The latest crackdown hits several companies and will allow the US to assess whether other companies are transferring chips to Huawei for its AI processor.
As a result of the letter, TSMC notified affected customers that it would suspend chip shipments starting Monday, the person said.
The Ministry of Commerce declined to comment.
“TSMC has held regular discussions with the government on export control issues and has made clear that it will adhere to domestic and international regulations,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Economy said in a statement to Reuters, referring to specific questions to TSMC.
A TSMC spokesperson also declined to comment, saying only that it is a “law-abiding company…committed to complying with all applicable rules and regulations, including applicable export controls.”
The Commerce Department’s communications — known as an “informed” letter — allow the United States to bypass lengthy rule-writing processes to quickly impose new licensing requirements on specific companies.
Ijiwei, a Chinese media website covering the semiconductor industry, reported on Friday that TSMC has notified Chinese chip design companies that it will suspend 7nm or lower chips for AI and GPU customers starting on November 11.
The action comes as Republican and Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about inadequate export controls on China and the Commerce Department’s enforcement of them.
In 2022, the Commerce Department sent informed letters to Nvidia and AMD to restrict their ability to export top AI-related chips to China, and to chip equipment makers such as Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA to restrict tools needed to make advanced chips to China. .
The restrictions contained in those letters were later turned into rules that apply to companies that exceed them.
The United States was late in updating rules regarding technology exports to China. As Reuters reported in July, the Biden administration drafted new rules on certain foreign exports of chipmaking equipment and planned to add about 120 Chinese companies to the Commerce Department’s restricted entity list, including chipmaking factories, tool makers and related companies.
But despite plans to release it in August, and subsequent initial target dates for publication, the rules have not yet been released.