TSMC has had its waiver to continue operations in China extended. Credit: Tada Images/shutterstock.com

TSMC has had its waiver to operate in China has been extended by the US. Speaking to reporters outside of Taiwan’s parliament today (13 October), Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-Hua confirmed the news. 

“My understanding is that TSMC has currently received a waiver extension from the US. It’s operations in mainland China are normal,” she stated. 

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Mei-Hua also stated that she believed TSMC would protect trade secrets and continue to comply with “the relevant regulations”. 

The news of TSMC’s waiver comes soon after South Korean companies Samsung and SK Hynix were similarly granted a waiver from the US to expand operations in China. 

A move which GlobalData consultant Mike Orme considered “no surprise”. 

Orme stated that the import of US equipment and manufacturing enables the US to expand on its overall production capacity whilst stabilising the global chip supply chain. A move that he states shows “when push comes to shove Washington will put these needs over ideology and containing China”. 

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But is the US really backing down? 

Data from GlobalData’s patent analytics state that the US and China are dominating patent applications compared to other countries, with only South Korea’s Samsung reaching the number of applications. 

Patents which protect intellectual property would enable either country to cordon off emerging technologies with legal protection, whilst also allowing that country to manufacture and sell the patented design giving them complete competitive control. 

The nascent nature of the AI chips market makes it hard to forecast with concrete accuracy, but the overall semiconductor industry is currently worth around $600bn according to GlobalData.  

TSMC is expected to release its quarterly earnings report next week.