Stop shipping advanced chips to China, US tells TSMC

The United States has ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to halt shipments of advanced chips that are often used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications to Chinese customers, starting on Nov 11, according to a person familiar with the matter.

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The Department of Commerce sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on certain sophisticated chips, of seven nanometre or more advanced designs, destined for China that power AI accelerator and graphics processing units, the person said.

The US order, which is being reported for the first time, 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 in October. Tech research firm Tech Insights had taken apart the product, revealing the TSMC chip and apparent violation of export controls.

Huawei, at the centre of the US action, is on a restricted trade list, which requires suppliers to obtain licences to ship any goods or technology to the company. Any licence that could aid Huawei's AI efforts would likely be denied.