Taiwan’s semiconductor industry says that because it attaches “great importance” to following the law, it will abide by new US export controls designed to hobble China’s nascent semiconductor industry,
The new rules were announced on Friday by President Joe Biden, and include a measure which will deny China access to chips made anywhere in the world with US equipment. It is a vast expansion of previous US efforts to slow down China’s development of technology.
Taiwan is a critical hub of the semiconductor industry due to the presence of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TMSC), the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer and a major supplier to tech companies ranging from Apple to Samsung.
In a statement following the release of the new US rules, Taiwan’s Economy Ministry noted its firms would abide by the law, saying, “Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has long served global customers and attaches great importance to compliance with laws. In addition to complying with domestic laws and regulations, it will also cooperate with the needs of international customers who place orders and the norms of customers in their countries.”
The ministry added that Taiwan is an industry leader in the semiconductor sector and continues to “maintain an advantage in the competition for international orders.” It added that the government is in close contact with manufacturers and supports their expansion and supply of products to the entire world.
TMSC did not comment on the new rules itself, saying it had entered its quiet period ahead of its quarterly earnings report next week. United Microelectronics Corp, a smaller competitor also declined to comment due to its pending earnings report later in the month.
Taiwan has long maintained its own concerns about China, which has sought to poach semiconductor talent and know-how from the island to develop its own chip industry. For that reason Taiwan has tightly restricted semiconductor investment in China, which is its largest trade partner.
Tensions have been building around Taiwan, as China has been launching military drills around what it maintains is a breakaway province, amid what it has deemed provocations by foreign politicians who have visited the island nation.
The Economy Minister of Taiwan, Wang Mei-hua will be traveling through the United States in the coming week, during which she will discuss what she has referred to as “concerns” regarding supply chains and geopolitical issues. She will also tour some US tech companies which are major customers of her nation’s technology firms.
