China's government has moved forward with restricting exports on certain materials central to chip manufacture -- but TSMC does not foresee this will impact production in the short term for Apple devices. That decision arrived on July 3, and one Chinese trade adviser has said it's "just a start" to what may be coming down the pipe. In an emailed statement, TSMC said, "After evaluation, we do not expect the export restrictions on raw materials gallium and germanium will have any direct impact on TSMC's production." If those issues worsen, it's possible the Chinese government could double down on export restrictions moving forward, as is suggested by that aforementioned trade adviser. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to visit with the Chinese government soon, and trade talks are on the docket.

Source: Washington Post July 07, 2023 16:03 UTC