Overview

• Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs placed Huawei and SMIC on its strategic high-tech entity list, mandating special export permits for Taiwanese firms.
• Officials say the measures are designed to close loopholes used to divert cutting-edge AI and military-grade chips despite existing US sanctions.
• Major local foundries and packaging firms including TSMC, UMC, ASE, SPIL and Nanya will now face rigorous licensing and compliance checks.
• The move signals Taipei’s growing alignment with Washington as leading US chip designers rely almost entirely on Taiwanese manufacturing.
• Analysts warn Beijing may retaliate through rare-earth export cuts or other economic and military measures.