Taiwan plans tighter controls on AI chip exports to China

Kung told Bloomberg News that Taipei plans to add AI servers and cutting-edge semiconductors to its controlled-items list.[1] Taiwan is preparing to tighten export controls on AI chips to align more closely with US restrictions.[1] The announcement concerns planned measures, not controls already in effect: Kung declined to say when Taiwan would implement them.[1] For businesses handling shipments, the practical next step is to distinguish the proposed scope from current requirements and monitor for an implementation date before changing export procedures.

Under the plan, shipping restricted AI hardware to China would become a criminal offense under Taiwan’s Foreign Trade Act.[1] Taiwan currently does not treat unauthorized AI chip exports to China as a crime, and courts could pursue suspected smugglers only under other existing local laws.[1] That would mark a change in the legal basis for pursuing such exports, if implemented.[1] Legal and compliance teams can use this distinction to assess the proposal, while avoiding assumptions about enforcement details that have not yet been announced.

Kung said some Taiwanese controls will correspond to US measures because Taiwan made commitments in the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade.[1] The US-Taiwan trade deal he referenced was signed in 2026.[1] Kung made the comments in an interview on Oct. 12, and the report was published on Oct. 16, 2026.[1] He did not provide a date for implementation.[1] For teams planning cross-border shipments, the deal provides context for the proposed alignment, but the available information does not specify which controls will match or when they will take effect.

The US has long restricted Chinese purchases of AI chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.[1] Chinese companies have obtained sought-after AI accelerators through a sophisticated black market, and US officials have alleged that billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia hardware reached China over the past few years.[1] Taiwan’s planned controls would be among the strictest measures taken by President Lai Ching-te’s administration to protect technology and national security interests.[1] Kung also said Taiwan plans to raise billions of dollars to develop US industrial parks for an in-country supply chain serving Nvidia and other AI hardware makers.[1]