According to reports from The Information and Financial Times, the USA is conducting a review of data on possible cooperation between Huawei and TSMC. The technology firm TechInsights analyzed one of Huawei's products and found a microchip produced by TSMC on it. This may indicate a violation of restrictions on the export of products from the Chinese company.
The South Korean company Huawei stated that it did not purchase chips from TSMC after the US regulations came into effect in 2020. It is unclear how the chip ended up with Huawei. The department informed the US commerce service only a week ago about the incident in order to prevent possible violations of export rules.
A representative of TSMC stated that they are actively cooperating with the Commerce Department on this issue. Meanwhile, the Taiwan government is closely monitoring compliance with the US regulations regarding the production of advanced microchips in China. In 2019, Huawei was included in a trade restrictions list for the USA based on national security considerations.
The chip found in Huawei's product is part of a multi-chip system, but it is not specified what it specifically represents. The company does not comment on the details of its report. This disclosure may indicate problems with compliance with export rules both for companies producing advanced products and for regulators.
