TSMC's Deal with Huawei: The Latest Semiconductor Saga

TSMC, the Taiwanese tech giant, has been in the hot seat lately. It's been selling semiconductors to Huawei, a Chinese company under US sanctions. You might think, "Uh-oh, that's not good. " But hold on, there's more to the story. TSMC says it's in the clear because Huawei placed the orders before the US sanctions kicked in. They even told the US Department of Commerce about it. So, for now, TSMC isn't facing any investigation. This all started when TechInsights found TSMC chips in Huawei's AI chips. That raised some eyebrows, considering the US export restrictions. But TSMC claims it's playing by the rules. They stopped supplying Huawei after the US sanctions started in September 2020.

Now, you might wonder why TSMC is dealing with Huawei in the first place. Well, China is a big market that tech companies can't ignore. Plus, China used to be a significant source of income for TSMC. But now, TSMC can't do business with China because of the sanctions. On the other side, China isn't quite there yet when it comes to making advanced semiconductors like TSMC. They're improving, but they're not at the same level. So, the balance of power is still tilted towards TSMC and the US.

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