TSMC Gets One-Year U.S. License To Ship Chipmaking Eqp't To China

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has secured a one-year license to continue ordering US chipmaking equipment for its expansion in China after Washington rolled out tough export controls to block Beijing's tech ambitions, sources briefed on the matter told Cheng Ting-fang of Nikkei Asia.

Photo Insert: Despite the waiver to maintain production in China, the US restrictions will still hit TSMC.

The US government assured TSMC, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, that it will be able to ship the equipment to a manufacturing facility in the Chinese city of Nanjing, meaning the company's plans to expand its manufacturing footprint in the world's second-largest economy will remain on track, people familiar with the matter said.

Despite the waiver to maintain production in China, the US restrictions will still hit TSMC as they mean it can no longer help its Chinese customers put advanced graphics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) processors into production.

Moreover, the ban on the use of US technology for ever-smaller chips stands, making it impossible for computers in China to use them for advanced smartphones and equipment with military, intelligence, and other strategic applications.

TSMC, the world’s biggest fabricator, is heavily dependent on advanced US technology for designing and producing microchips, and the manufacture of equipment for fabricating wafers and ultrathin processors is practically a US monopoly.

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