U.S. Probes TSMC’s Dealings With Huawei

The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has been making artificial intelligence or smartphone chips for Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies in what would be a breach of U.S. export rules, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Since 2020, the U.S. has banned Huawei from buying chips manufactured using American equipment, citing national security concerns. The U.S. restrictions also block Huawei from using U.S. technology to make its own chips without approval from the Commerce Department. In recent weeks the department has contacted TSMC to ask whether it was involved in making either smartphone chips or AI chips for Huawei, the people said.