The chip curbs appeared to be part of a strategy to increasingly use economic and trade policy for diplomatic goals.
Taiwan says its proposed new approval system for semiconductor exports to South Africa has been suspended.
This comes just two days after the country expressed discomfort with using the key tech export as a diplomatic weapon.
Restrictions
The curbs were imposed on 23 September 2025, in response to South Africa’s decision to downgrade and relocate Taiwan’s representative office under pressure from China.
The Economic Ministry said in a statement sent to reporters via Line on Thursday that after discussion with the Foreign Ministry, it had “decided to suspend the release of this announcement”.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry later stated that the move was linked to South Africa’s request for negotiations on its demand that Taiwan relocate its de facto embassy.
ALSO READ: iPads to finally get Instagram after 15 years
Strategy
The chip curbs appeared to be part of a strategy to increasingly use economic and trade policy for diplomatic goals, and similar measures could be imposed on other unfriendly nations, Bloomberg News reported previously.
However, officials in Taipei seem to have had second thoughts about the approach, possibly over the impact on companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, whose advanced chips are central to the AI revolution.
China — one of the most exposed to any attempts by Taiwan to tighten chip controls — lashed out at the curbs on South Africa on Wednesday, with a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying that Taipei “deliberately destabilised global” supply chains.
Compromising SA
Earlier this week, the DA said the decision to restrict the export of its world-leading silicone semiconductor chips to South Africa would decimate the country’s manufacturing industry, compromise industrial competitiveness, and shed tens of thousands of jobs in an already strained international trade environment.
“Taiwan’s dominance in the production and supply of silicone semiconductor chips makes them the preferred component for many of South Africa’s largest manufacturers, especially in the automotive, information technology, and artificial intelligence sectors,” the DA’s spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, Ryan Smith, said.
The export restrictions were subject to a 60-day notice period and were scheduled to take effect in late November.
NOW READ: How eSIM cards are changing the mobile experience
