Taiwan Blacklists Huawei & SMIC

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Taiwan Blacklists Huawei & SMIC

Taiwan has added Huawei and SMIC to its export-control list, citing national-security threats. This move, part of escalating cross-strait tech tensions, sends shockwaves through the global semiconductor supply chain

Sultan Sikander

June 16, 2025

5Min Reads

Computer and Electronics

🚨 Taiwan Blacklists Huawei & SMIC — Full News Report | June 16, 2025

Taipei, Taiwan — June 16, 2025 — In a decisive geopolitical and technological move, Taiwan has officially blacklisted two of China’s most prominent tech giants — Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) — citing national security concerns and risks of advanced technology proliferation. The decision was enacted by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) via its International Trade Administration (ITA) and was added to the country’s Strategic High-Tech Commodities Export Control Entity List.

This regulatory update, effective June 10, 2025, marks a major escalation in Taiwan’s alignment with U.S.-led efforts to limit the flow of advanced semiconductor and AI technologies to the People’s Republic of China, particularly companies perceived as tied to the Chinese military or state surveillance networks.

🔹 What the Blacklist Implies

Under the new measures:

All Taiwanese exporters must seek and obtain special government licenses before exporting goods, services, software, or technology to Huawei and SMIC.
This includes restrictions on semiconductors, advanced chip-making equipment, optical components, AI hardware, and other strategic technologies.
Customs authorities have been ordered to halt any shipments en route to these companies that do not carry the mandatory licensing documentation.
Violators of the regulation face significant penalties, including administrative fines and potential revocation of export privileges.

The move places Huawei and SMIC among 601 entities from countries including China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar, and Pakistan, flagged as posing a threat to peace, national security, or global non-proliferation norms.

🌏 Context and Global Implications

This decision represents Taiwan’s most assertive action yet in support of the broader global tech containment effort targeting China’s access to next-generation chip technologies. The global semiconductor industry has seen growing fragmentation, with allied nations forming a defensive tech coalition designed to curb China’s rise in critical domains such as AI chips, 5G networks, quantum computing, and autonomous defense technologies.

The blacklisting aligns Taiwan with the existing U.S. Entity List, which already includes Huawei and SMIC. The United States has barred these companies from accessing American-made chips and tools since 2019 and 2020, respectively.

For Taiwan, this decision serves both domestic and diplomatic objectives:

It helps protect its own high-tech sector — especially national champion TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) — from intellectual property theft and foreign coercion.
It sends a message of alignment to Washington and its allies at a time of rising geopolitical pressure in the Indo-Pacific region.
It reduces the possibility of Taiwanese-made semiconductors being used in China’s military or surveillance systems.

🏭 Huawei & SMIC: Why They Matter

Huawei is China’s largest telecommunications and consumer electronics company. It has invested heavily in AI, cloud infrastructure, 5G base stations, and chip design. Despite U.S. sanctions, Huawei recently launched new smartphones with advanced AI processors, raising concerns about the source of its technology.

SMIC, China’s largest foundry, plays a key role in producing chips designed by Chinese firms, including Huawei’s semiconductor division, HiSilicon. Though SMIC is behind global leaders like TSMC and Samsung, it has made progress in sub-10nm node fabrication — technology that is considered dual-use and potentially military-applicable.

Taiwan’s decision to cut off access will significantly disrupt both companies’ future product pipelines, particularly in AI accelerators, high-performance computing, and 5G baseband chips.

🔍 Strategic Analysis

Tech Nationalism Solidifies: Taiwan has joined the growing number of countries that are treating semiconductors as a core national security asset, not just an economic sector.
Supply Chain Bifurcation: With Taiwan’s cooperation, the world’s chip supply chain is becoming increasingly polarized. Chinese firms may be forced to rely on lower-quality domestic tools and R&D, slowing their global competitiveness.
Compliance and Oversight: Taiwanese companies — from large-scale foundries to component suppliers — must now install compliance departments, create internal vetting systems, and coordinate closely with regulators to avoid unauthorized exports.
China’s Domestic Innovation Push: Huawei and SMIC will likely accelerate internal research, but replacing Taiwan’s ecosystem — including fabless design firms, equipment makers, and material suppliers — is an uphill task.

📊 Sector-Wide Impacts

On Taiwanese Firms

Taiwanese companies exporting anything related to chips, telecom equipment, or AI software must now evaluate the risks and adapt operations to avoid legal and diplomatic pitfalls. Firms like MediaTek, ASE, and Win Semiconductors could see short-term business loss but long-term gains in geopolitical credibility and partnerships.

On China’s Tech Roadmap

China’s path to chip self-sufficiency suffers another major setback. Although Beijing has poured billions into local foundries and R&D, the gap in lithography, advanced packaging, and software tooling remains wide. Huawei’s flagship chips have previously relied on Taiwanese fabrication — access that now appears completely severed.

On U.S.–Taiwan Relations

This move is likely to be welcomed in Washington, further cementing Taiwan’s position as a reliable ally in enforcing high-tech trade rules. It may also unlock enhanced cooperation on chip R&D, security infrastructure, and supply chain resilience.

✅ Summary and Outlook

Taiwan’s June 2025 decision to officially blacklist Huawei and SMIC is a critical turning point in the global tech rivalry between the United States and China. This action adds Taiwan’s regulatory weight to the containment strategy against Chinese technological advancement and represents a coordinated defensive stance in the semiconductor sector.

In the coming months, further export restrictions are expected — possibly expanding to other Chinese firms engaged in AI, robotics, and advanced sensors. Taiwan’s role in the global chip ecosystem will grow even more strategic, and the global chip supply chain will continue fragmenting along geopolitical lines.

The signal is clear: Taiwan is not only the physical heart of chip manufacturing but now also a geopolitical gatekeeper in deciding who can and cannot access the future of computing.