Taiwan plans criminal penalties for unauthorised AI chip exports to China

Taiwan plans to add advanced semiconductors and AI servers to its export control list, Economics Minister Kung Ming-hsin said in a Monday interview with Bloomberg, as reported by Taiwan News. The minister said unauthorised shipments of restricted equipment could then lead to criminal charges under the Foreign Trade Act. Kung said the changes are part of the commitments under the Taiwan-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and that some export controls would follow US rules, but he did not say when they would take effect. Taiwan News reported that in August prosecutors indicted nine people over an alleged scheme to export AI servers to China, using charges including breach of trust and document forgery.

What it means for business: companies that buy, resell or ship AI servers and advanced chips through Taiwan should expect export licensing aligned with US controls; no start date has been set.