In response to foreign media reports that the Taiwanese government plans to strengthen controls on high-end chip exports to China, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs stated on Tuesday evening that the government will continue to strengthen the management mechanism for Taiwan's strategic high-tech goods, in order to align with international export control trends and safeguard national security. Currently, Taiwan and the United States are continuing discussions on issues such as placing high-end chips under regulatory oversight.
According to Bloomberg, sources revealed that Taiwan is considering imposing stricter export controls on the sale of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, further aligning with US measures. The aim is to provide regulatory authorities with more legal tools to address the issue of advanced hardware being re-exported from Taiwan to China, such as AI servers equipped with Nvidia chips.
Based on restrictions first implemented by the United States in 2022 to prevent China from acquiring military advantages through Nvidia's advanced processors, US regulations prohibit such sales unless the relevant companies obtain permission from Washington. Taiwan does not regard unauthorized export of AI chips to China as a crime, but does warn potential sellers that continuing transactions may violate US regulations.
Bloomberg cited sources saying that as part of ongoing trade negotiations with the US, Taipei officials are currently considering implementing stronger AI chip controls, expanding sales restrictions to cover all customers in China instead of only specific companies on the export blacklist, such as Huawei. Because of the sensitivity of the matter, the sources requested anonymity.
In response to Bloomberg's report, the Ministry of Economic Affairs replied in the evening that it will continue to strengthen the management mechanism for Taiwan's strategic high-tech goods to align with international export control trends and safeguard national security. Currently, Taiwan and the US are continuing discussions on issues such as the regulatory oversight of high-end chips.