US pressures TSMC not to fab Huawei ICs

Washington is leaning on Taipei to instruct TSMC to stop fabbing Huawei’s ICs, reports the FT.

Sales to China represent about 20% of TSMC’s total sales and it is thought that about half of that 20% is accounted for by sales to Huawei.

Under the current China-sceptic administration in Taiwan, it is thought that little will be done officially to try and influence TSMC. However Taiwan has elections in January and the main opposition party is more friendly to China.

Curiously, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Bloomberg at the weekend that licences to US companies wanting to export to Huawei “will be forthcoming very shortly.”

Ross said that the DoC had received 206 applications for licences.