Washington grants TSMC annual approval for US chipmaking tool shipments to China

SEOUL, Jan 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. government has granted an annual license to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to import U.S. chip manufacturing equipment to its facilities in Nanjing, China, the chipmaker said on Thursday. The approval "ensures uninterrupted fab operations and product deliveries," the company said in a statement to Reuters. TSMC joins South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in gaining approval for shipments of U.S. chipmaking tools to China. Those Asian companies had benefited from exemptions to Washington's sweeping restrictions on chip-related exports to China. But the privilege known as validated end-user status expired on December 31, meaning shipments of American equipment to chipmakers' factories in China from 2026 would require U.S. export licences. "The U.S. Department of Commerce has granted TSMC Nanjing an annual export license that allows U.S. export-controlled items to be supplied to TSMC Nanjing without the need for individual vendor licenses," TSMC said in a statement to Reuters. "This license, issued before the December 31, 2025 expiration of existing Validated End-User (VEU) authorization, ensures uninterrupted fab operations and product deliveries," it said.  (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Wen-Yee Lee; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel)

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