Handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Saturday said it is preparing to apply for a permit to continue exporting to ZTE Corp (中興通訊), after the government announced new restrictions on high-tech exports to the Chinese firm.
MediaTek plans to follow requirements set out by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in applying for the export permit, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said, adding that it hopes to continue sending shipments to its customer with only minor disruption.
The ministry late on Friday announced new measures for shipments from local companies to ZTE and its subsidiary, ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd (中興康訊), two weeks after the US banned US companies from selling products to the two Chinese companies for seven years.
In a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said it informed trade associations on April 23 that all Taiwanese companies that ship “strategic, high-tech commodities” to the two Chinese firms must obtain export permits from the ministry to clear customs.
Domestic companies would receive export permits in three to five days after applying if the goods being shipped to ZTE do not involve “nuclear, biotech or chemical developments for military weapons,” the bureau said.
However, goods that cause concern would necessitate other government agencies participating in the review, which would possibly delay receipt of the permits, with companies having to wait 10 to 15 days, the bureau added.
Asked if the government’s measures aim to bar local companies from doing business with ZTE, bureau Director-General Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister publication of the Taipei Times) on Saturday that the permit requirements are to serve as a reminder for local companies of the “red line” drawn by the US government and ensure that their dealings with the Chinese firms are legal.
Taiwan in July 1995 started its strategic high-tech commodities export control system to adhere to a control list set by the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls agreement, Yang said.
US trade sanctions were imposed on ZTE and its subsidiary on April 15, after they failed to comply with an agreement with Washington to discipline employees who had violated US restrictions on exports of US technology to Iran and North Korea, but instead paid them bonuses.
While the seven-year ban — which took effect on April 15 and is to continue through March 13, 2025 — might jeopardize ZTE’s development, MediaTek has little exposure to the Chinese firm, it told a teleconference on Friday, adding that the US penalties imposed on ZTE would have no significant effect on its short-term operations.
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic gas stations are to fall NT$0.2 and NT$0.1 per liter respectively this week, even though international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices continued rising last week, as the US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected drop in US commercial crude oil inventories, CPC said in a statement. Based on the company’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil rose 2.38 percent last week from a week earlier, it said. News that US President Donald Trump plans a “secondary
RSS