Taiwan considering new chip export ban against China

Taiwan is reportedly planning to strengthen its chip export ban against China by expanding the coverage of the banned items to photomasks and some high-end materials.

The island’s Ministry of Economic Affairs has been drafting the second round of its chip export ban after it banned the export of 12 types of chip-making machines and parts that are capable of making 14-nanometer or smaller chips to mainland China on December 5, 2023, Commercial Times reported.

The ministry has in mind restricting the e port of locally-made photomasks, substrates and thin films to mainland China. This round of curbs would be approved by the government in March and implemented in the first half of this year.

Photomask is a silica plate covered with a pattern of opaque, transparent, and phase-shifting areas that are projected onto wafers in the lithography process. Substrate is the silicon wafer while thin film is the metal deposited on the wafer.

A spokesperson of the ministry said the government has not yet made any decision on the matter or set a timetable for the launch of the reported rules. The spokesperson said the government will consult people from different sectors to ensure that Taiwan’s key industries can maintain their advantages and continue to grow.

Taiwanese mediareported earlier this month that the US Commerce Department will send officials to Taiwan in March to meet with the island’s chipmakers in Hsinchu and Tainan and explain to them about US chip export rules.

Impact on Taiwan’s firms

Last December, Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) said it has banned exports to mainland China of know-how and raw materials that can be used to make chips smaller than 14nm.

It said the advanced chip-making