The United States of America has been rumored to have intended to expand restrictions on semiconductor exports to China starting from October, this year. The action, according to industry experts, is believed to be a continued increase in the US blockade of China and may complicate the semiconductor market situation, but it is expected that TSMC should be limited.
According to Reuters, the US Department of Commerce intends to publish new regulations that will prevent American firms KLA Corp, Lam Research, and Applied Materials from supplying sophisticated semiconductors smaller than 14 nanometers. The Commerce Department also plans to forbid Nvidia and AMD from exporting different AI computing processors to China without first receiving approval from the department.
Expert Take on the Ban
According to scholar and Sankei Database director, Liu Peizhen of the National Taiwan Academy of Economics, the US is stepping up its attempts to obstruct China. The United States has in the past made it impossible for China to acquire the necessary modern semiconductor equipment, through the strength of its allies. In order to force China to create more sophisticated and unique methods, it now seeks to further explain the applicable measures.
Liu Peizhen further stated that the established methods used in Taiwan’s semiconductor plants still give them a competitive yield edge. The sector has effectively expanded into the automotive market in recent years when the supply and demand of mature processes are in limited supply, and there is a market niche for expansion. The development of sophisticated techniques by Chinese manufacturers may prevent it from being compacted.
Effect of the Regulation
However, the Sankei Database director maintained that the American firms Huida and Supermicro may bear the brunt of any regulation of AI accelerators. Since the two businesses still have time to react, they can change how they interact with customers and local markets to lessen the effect. Whether US control will be extended to the server and downstream end markets is still up in the air.
In all, Liu Peizhen believed that Huida and Supermicro are both significant clients of TSMC, but only certain goods exported by Huida and Supermicro to China are subject to the US embargo on AI-related graphics processors.
However, since TSMC has already dealt with the restriction on Huawei, their flexible adjustment approach is acceptable. Under the cutting edge of the sophisticated manufacturing process, it is anticipated that TSMC would be able to respond rapidly this time with little impact on operations. Follow TechGenyz for more updates.