The United States ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to stop shipments of advanced chips, which are often used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, to Chinese customers starting Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Commerce Department sent a letter to TSMC imposing an export ban on certain sophisticated chips with seven nanometer or more advanced designs destined for China, which power AI accelerators and graphics processing units (GPUs), the person said. .
The US order, which is being reported for the first time, comes just weeks after TSMC informed the Commerce Department that one of its chips was found in a Huawei AI processor, Reuters reported last month. Tech research firm Tech Insights had taken apart the product, revealing apparent violations of the TSMC chip and export controls.
Huawei at the center of the US crackdown is on a restricted trade list, which requires suppliers to obtain a license to send any goods or technology to the company. Any license that could aid Huawei’s AI efforts would likely be rejected.
Sources told Reuters last month that TSMC suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sofgo because its chip matched one found on Huawei AI processors.
Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, released in 2022, which is seen as the most advanced AI chip available from a Chinese company.
The latest crackdown will affect many more companies and will help the US assess whether other companies are sending chips to Huawei for its AI processors.
As a result of the letter, TSMC informed affected customers that it was suspending shipments of chips starting Monday, the person said.
The Commerce Department declined to comment.
“TSMC has regularly discussed export control issues with the government and has made it clear that it will comply with domestic and international regulations,” Taiwan’s Economy Ministry said in a statement to Reuters, referring to specific questions about 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 communication – known as the “Notify” letter – allows the US to bypass lengthy rule-writing processes to immediately impose new licensing requirements on specific companies.
Easywei, a Chinese media site covering the semiconductor industry, reported on Friday that TSMC has informed Chinese chip design companies that it will suspend production of chips at seven nanometers or below for AI and GPU customers from November 11.
The action comes as both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about the inadequacy of export controls on China and the Commerce Department’s enforcement of them.
In 2022, the Commerce Department sent informed letters to Nvidia and AMD, restricting their ability to export top AI-related chips to China, and requiring chip equipment makers such as Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA to make advanced chips in China. Asked to ban the devices. ,
The restrictions in those letters were later turned into rules that apply to companies beyond them.
The US has been late in updating rules on tech 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. Made a plan.
But despite a planned release in August and tentative target dates for later publication, the rules have still not been released.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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