The U.S. Department of Commerce imposes export restrictions on TSMC for the supply of chips to China. The restrictions apply to semiconductors manufactured using the 7 nm process and below, which can be used for AI, Reuters reports.

This restriction was imposed after TSMC announced that it had detected its chip in Huawei’s AI processor. After conducting its own investigation, the company stopped supplying the two firms suspected of transferring the chips.

However, it seems that the US considers these restrictions insufficient. The new ban covers many more companies and allows the United States to check whether other companies are diverting chips to Huawei.

According to an anonymous source, TSMC has already notified its Chinese customers that it is suspending the supply of chips. But the manufacturer has not yet confirmed this.

“TSMC has had regular discussions with the government on export control issues and has made it clear that it will comply with domestic and international regulations,” comments the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan.

By the way, in 2022, the United States similarly obliged NVIDIA and AMD by restricting their ability to export leading chips to China. Hardware manufacturers Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA received the same restrictions.