Taiwan is weighing a major tightening of its export controls that could turn unauthorized AI chip shipments to China into a criminal offense, according to a report citing people familiar with the talks. The proposal would go beyond the island's current approach, which focuses mainly on blacklisted companies, and could reshape how companies handle high-end server and accelerator exports.
The move is being discussed alongside ongoing trade talks with the United States. The idea, according to the report, is to bring Taiwan's rules closer to Washington's own export restrictions on advanced chips used for artificial intelligence and other high-performance computing tasks.
Under the proposed framework, the restrictions would not be limited to named Chinese firms such as Huawei. Instead, they could apply to all customers in China if the chips meet or exceed a certain level of processing power. That would mark a broader and more aggressive policy stance than Taiwan's current system.
At present, Taiwan does not treat unauthorized AI chip exports to China as a crime in their own right. Officials can warn companies that shipments may run afoul of U.S. rules, but local prosecutors generally have to rely on other laws if they want to bring a case. That gap has limited the tools available to authorities when investigating suspected smuggling.
The issue gained new attention after prosecutors in Keelung detained three people in May in connection with the suspected movement of roughly 50 Nvidia-based servers. In that case, investigators used document-forgery allegations rather than an export-control charge. The detentions were part of a wider crackdown that also led Nvidia to publicly urge Supermicro to improve compliance practices.
Taiwan already places licensing requirements on shipments to Huawei and SMIC, the Chinese chipmaker, after both companies were blacklisted last year. But those restrictions do not cover the broader Chinese market. As a result, the government is now considering whether the current patchwork of rules is sufficient in an environment where AI hardware can be diverted through intermediaries and resold across borders.
If adopted, the tighter rules would give Taiwan a new enforcement mechanism and could make it easier for authorities to pursue suspected smugglers in local courts. They would also signal closer coordination with the United States at a time when Washington has expanded its own attempts to limit China's access to advanced semiconductors.
The details of the proposal have not been finalized, and it remains unclear how far the government will go. But the discussion itself underscores the pressure on Taiwan, home to some of the world's most important semiconductor manufacturing, to balance its role in the global chip supply chain with rising geopolitical and trade tensions.
For now, the possible criminalization of AI chip exports to all of China remains under review. Even so, the shift would represent a notable escalation in Taiwan's effort to police the movement of sensitive hardware and align its policy more closely with US restrictions on advanced computing equipment.