US government revokes TSMC’s waiver for chip supply to China; TSMC says it has received notification from the American government that …

The Trump administration has reportedly revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) authorisation to ship US-made chipmaking tools to China without a licence. According to a report by CNBC, the US officials informed

TSMC

of their decision to end the chipmaker’s validated end user, or VEU, status for its Nanjing site. The decision follows a similar step last week when Washington withdrew the “validated end user” status of Samsung and SK Hynix, restricting their ability to move equipment into China freely.Notably,

Intel

also lost its licence-free status last week. But the chipmaker – which the government agreed to take a 10 per cent stake in last month– had already sold its China memory-chip factory in Dalian to SK Hynix.

Impact on TSMC operations

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, runs a facility in Nanjing that produces semiconductors for consumer electronics and industrial use, and another plant in Shanghai using older technology. Its most advanced chips, such as Nvidia’s AI processors banned from export to China, are made in Taiwan and the US.

The revocation does not immediately bar TSMC from exporting US equipment to China but will now require government approval for future shipments, giving Washington more oversight.The move comes as US and Chinese officials continue trade talks ahead of a potential meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this year. The Trump administration has avoided imposing sweeping new restrictions in order not to disrupt negotiations.China, meanwhile, is trying to ramp up domestic production, with plans to triple its output of AI processors next year, the Financial Times reported earlier.

What TSMC said on the revocation

“TSMC has received notification from the

US government

that our [validated end user] authorisation for TSMC Nanjing will be revoked effective December 31, 2025,” a company spokesperson said as quoted in a report by Financial Times.“While we are evaluating the situation and taking appropriate measures, including communicating with the US government, we remain fully committed to ensuring the uninterrupted operation of TSMC Nanjing,” the spokesperson added.