[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing), has decided to halt the supply of advanced AI chips to China. This move is interpreted as a response to the U.S. government's increased export restrictions on China.

The U.S. is expected to tighten export controls on China further with the start of the "Trump 2.0" administration, leading to increased uncertainty in global affairs, including for domestic companies.

Reuters reported on the 9th (local time) that the U.S. government has ordered TSMC to stop supplying high-performance semiconductors to China.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the U.S. Department of Commerce sent a formal notice to TSMC, imposing export restrictions on advanced semiconductors under 7nm (nanometers = one billionth of a meter) used for AI accelerators or graphics processing units (GPUs).

On the previous day, the Financial Times (FT) reported that TSMC notified its Chinese customers that it would no longer accept orders for semiconductors under 7nm starting on the 11th. Combining reports from Reuters and FT, the industry interprets this decision as being driven by orders from the U.S. government.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has not yet commented on the report, while TSMC stated that it is "working to comply with all regulations, including export controls."

 

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