The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a directive to TSMC imposing export restrictions on high-level chips, notably those of 7 nanometers or more advanced, that fuel AI technologies and graphics processing units (GPUs). The move follows a revelation that a chip from TSMC surfaced in Huawei’s AI hardware, contrary to existing trade restrictions. This incident came to light when a research firm dissected the Huawei AI processor, uncovering the TSMC chip.