How TSMC’s Huawei mistake may cost it $1 billion fine in the US

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is under investigation by the US Department of Commerce for allegedly violating export control regulations. The probe centers on a chip manufactured by TSMC for Sophgo, a China-based chip design company, which reportedly ended up in Huawei’s high-end Ascend 910B artificial intelligence processor. Huawei has been on the US Entity List since 2020, restricting its access to goods made with US technology.

According to a report by Reuters, TSMC could face a fine exceeding $1 billion if found guilty of breaching export rules. The penalty is based on regulations allowing fines up to twice the value of unauthorised transactions.