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U.S. gov't revokes TSMC's authorization to ship tools to its fabs in China — special export license to be pulled by end of 2025
But TSMC vows to continue making chips on the mainland.
Until now, TSMC benefited from a general approval system — enabled by its validated end-user (VEU) status with the U.S. government — that allowed routine shipments of tools produced by American companies like Applied Materials, KLA, and LAM Research without delay. Although China-based AMEC, Kingsemi, Naura, and Piotech have made quite some progress with their cleaning, deposition and etching tools, they hardly currently offer full toolsets with the yield or precision that TSMC requires for commercial-grade 16nm production. However, compared to Samsung and SK hynix — both of which have a large manufacturing presence in mainland China — TSMC's Fab 16 footprint there is relatively limited (i.e., well below 10% of revenue, which is still a lot in dollar terms).
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