TSMC may have breached US sanctions; Apple chip production at risk

The US Commerce Department is carrying out an investigation into whether Apple chipmaker TSMC breached US sanctions against China by supplying smartphone and AI chips to Huawei. The probe was in part driven by Huawei’s surprising ability to resume competing with iPhones.

Update: A new report today says that TSMC reported itself to the US government based on its own suspicions about an order.

If found guilty, TSMC could potentially face sanctions which might interfere with its ability to produce future Apple chips.

The key iPhone versus Huawei background

Huawei’s smartphones used to compete strongly against iPhones, not just in China but worldwide. That ended when the US government imposed sanctions against China, prohibiting US companies from exporting advanced technology to the country.

That included US-made 5G chips, and since you couldn’t launch a premium smartphone without 5G, that effectively ended Huawei’s ability to compete.

However, things changed in 2023 when Huawei launched the Mate 60, which included 5G. Nobody could understand how that was possible given that Chinese companies did not have the technology required to make the chips. Even the US National Security Advisor commented on the surprise development.

There was a strong suspicion that US sanctions had been broken, leading to the investigation.

TSMC may have breached sanctions

The Information reports that Apple chipmaker TSMC is now suspected of having supplied 5G and AI chips to Huawei, using US-made equipment.

The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has been making artificial intelligence or smartphone chips for Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in what would be a breach of U.S. export rules, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

If the chips did indeed come from TSMC, it’s likely that orders were placed in the names of intermediary companies, but the chipmaker is required to carry out due diligence checks to establish the identity of the end user. The investigation will determine whether TSMC did so.

Could have implications for Apple

If TSMC is found to have failed to comply with its obligations, it could face penalties which would impact its ability to produce future Apple chips.

If the Commerce Department found that TSMC breached export rules in its dealings with Huawei, it could impose a fine or more severe penalties, such as temporarily restricting TMSC’s ability to access U.S. tech.

TSMC said that it has compliance systems in place, but is fully cooperating with the investigation and is taking its own steps to determine whether its checks failed.

9to5Mac’s Take

While there were several potential explanations, somebody breaking US sanctions to supply 5G chips to Huawei always seemed the most likely of these.

Apple is of course in no way involved, but could potentially find itself caught up in the aftermath if TSMC is indeed found to be at fault.

You’d hope that the US Commerce Department would consider US interests here, and limit any penalties to a fine, but joined-up thinking isn’t always evident in government responses.

Photo by Sajad Nori on Unsplash