US limits TSMC chipmaking tool shipments to China

President Donald Trump's administration has revoked Taiwanese
semiconductor giant TSMC's authorization to export US chipmaking equipment to
China without a license, further restricting access to US technology in the
country.
The move comes as the US Commerce Department moved to end the
"validated end-user" (VEU) program allowing select foreign
semiconductor manufacturers to export US-origin goods and tech license-free to
make chips in China.
"TSMC has received notification from the US Government that
our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing will be revoked effective December 31,
2025," said a spokesperson for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
on Tuesday.
"While we are evaluating the situation and taking
appropriate measures, including communicating with the US government, we remain
fully committed to ensuring the uninterrupted operation of TSMC Nanjing,"
TSMC added in a statement.
TSMC is the world's largest contract maker of chips that are
used in everything from smartphones to missiles, and counts Nvidia and Apple
among its clients.
But the center of its most advanced manufacturing remains in
Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as part of its territory.
Taiwan's economic ministry said Wednesday that the US move was
expected to "affect the predictability of the plant's future
operations."
However, the ministry pointed out that TSMC's Nanjing plant only
accounts for around three percent of its total production capacity and
"even lower" of the island's overall chip production.
"We estimate that this will not affect Taiwan's overall
industrial competitiveness," it said in a statement.
On Friday, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and
Security said that former VEU participants will have 120 days after the new
rule is published in the Federal Register to apply for and receive export
licenses.
But while the bureau plans to grant licenses to allow these
businesses to run existing China-based plants, it does not plan to issue
licenses for them "to expand capacity or upgrade technology," it
said.
















