Taiwan adds China's SIMC, Huawei to high-tech export blacklist

Taiwan has added China’s Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) to its export control list for strategic high-tech commodities, according to the economy ministry’s updated website.

Taiwanese companies must now obtain government approval before exporting products to these entities.

Other organizations on the list include the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Neither Huawei, SMIC, nor Taiwan’s economy ministry has commented on the decision, which was made public over the weekend.

Taiwan, home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, already enforces strict export controls on Chinese firms.

The government has also pledged to address tech theft and talent recruitment by Chinese firms, including SMIC, as part of efforts to protect its semiconductor industry.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Export controls create a new “technology containment” framework

Taiwan’s decision to place Huawei and SMIC on an export control list alongside organizations like the Taliban and al Qaeda represents an extraordinary escalation in semiconductor restrictions 1.

This categorization signals Taiwan’s alignment with increasingly stringent U.S. export control policies that treat advanced technology access as a national security priority rather than just a trade issue.

The move follows a specific trigger event when Canadian research firm TechInsights discovered a TSMC chip inside Huawei’s 910B AI processor, leading to suspended shipments and increased U.S. Commerce Department scrutiny 1.

By requiring government approval for any Taiwanese exports to these companies, Taiwan is reinforcing a multi-layered technology containment strategy that now spans multiple allied countries and targets China’s most advanced technology champions.

Taiwan’s decision specifically targets companies central to China’s AI ambitions, with Huawei described as being “at the center of China’s AI ambitions” in official assessments 1.

2️⃣ Semiconductor supply chains become increasingly politicized

TSMC’s central position as the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to AI leaders like Nvidia places Taiwan at the nexus of a highly politicized technology competition 1.