Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. listed the challenges of ensuring export control compliance by its customers, months after the company’s artificial intelligence silicon was found to have flowed to US-sanctioned Huawei Technologies Co. via intermediaries. “TSMC’s role in the semiconductor supply chain inherently limits its visibility and information available to it regarding the downstream use or user of final products that incorporate semiconductors manufactured by it,” the Hsinchu, Taiwan-based company said in its latest annual report released on Friday. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said the constraint impedes its ability to prevent unintended end-uses of its semiconductors, as well as diverted shipments by business partners and third parties intent on circumventing sanctions. In terms of whether there are going to be compliance issues found, the go-to chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp. said in the report there is “no assurance,” despite TSMC’s best efforts to abide by relevant export control regulations. TSMC provides manufacturing services to many so-called fabless firms and chip designers including Nvidia.

Full report : TSMC says its role in the semiconductor supply chain limits its ability to comply with export rules, after reports its tech was used in Huawei’s Ascend 910B.