By Gian Estrada
Publication Date: 2026-10-16 15:11:00
NVIDIA (NVDA) picked up a new China headache on Friday, October 16, though not one that touches its guidance. Taiwan plans to add AI servers and advanced semiconductors to its export control list, and shipping them to China without a license would become a crime under the island’s Foreign Trade Act, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with Taiwan’s economy minister.
Taiwan tied the move to commitments in this year’s trade deal with Washington. No start date has been set.
Why Taiwan Needs the Law
Right now, an unlicensed AI chip shipment to China isn’t a crime in Taiwan on its own. That gap showed up in August, when prosecutors indicted nine people over 74 Nvidia B300 servers that allegedly reached Chinese buyers. They had to rely on breach of trust and document forgery charges. Two people from Super Micro Computer (SMCI:NASDAQ)’s Taiwan unit were among them (the company wasn’t charged).
In the US, prosecutors charged Super Micro co-founder Wally Liaw in March over about $2.5 billion of Nvidia servers allegedly routed to China.
Nvidia’s China Line Was Already Shrinking
China (including Hong Kong) revenue fell from $5.53 billion in the January 2025 quarter to $2.77 billion by July…
