The U.S. government has given the Taiwanese chip giant TSMC a one-year license to continue importing American chip-making equipment to its factory in Nanjing, China. The move, which was also granted to the South Korean firms Samsung and SK Hynix, is a significant development in the ongoing tech war between the U.S. and China.
For the past year, these Asian chipmakers had been operating under a special exemption from Washington’s strict export controls, which are designed to slow down China’s technological progress. But that exemption expired at the end of last year, forcing the companies to apply for new licenses to keep their Chinese factories running.
The new license is a huge relief for TSMC. In a statement, the company said the license “ensures uninterrupted fab operations and product deliveries.” The Nanjing factory is a key part of TSMC’s operations, even though it doesn’t produce the company’s most advanced chips. Last year, the plant brought in about 2.4% of TSMC’s total revenue.
The decision to grant the new licenses shows that the U.S. government is taking a more nuanced approach to its export controls. While it’s still trying to block China’s access to the most cutting-edge technology, it is willing to allow the production of less advanced chips to continue, at least for now.
