US lawmaker demands answers on TSMC chip in Huawei device

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on China demanded answers on Wednesday from the Commerce Department and TSMC after a chip made by the Taiwanese company was found in a device made by China’s Huawei.

“Reports that cutting-edge TSMC-manufactured chips have contributed to Huawei’s AI development represent a catastrophic failure of U.S. export control policy,” Representative John Moolenaar said in a statement. “Congress needs immediate answers from both (Commerce) and TSMC about the scope and volume of this disaster.”

The Commerce Department and TSMC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The comments come after Reuters reported earlier on Wednesday that TSMC had suspended shipments to a customer after it discovered one of its chips supplied to the client had ended up in a Huawei product.