Taiwanese Individuals Involved in Illegal Sale of NVIDIA Chip Servers; Ministry of Economic Affairs Urges Compliance

(CNA reporter Tseng Yun-ting, Taipei, 21st) A man surnamed You and others are suspected of submitting false information in an attempt to illegally sell servers equipped with high-end NVIDIA (NVIDIA) chips to China, Hong Kong, and Macau. The Ministry of Economic Affairs today emphasized that the export of AI servers and related high-tech goods must comply with both domestic and major international export control regulations. Exporters must truthfully declare the ultimate use and user, and must not evade inspection through false documents, swapping, or re-labeling, to avoid breaking the law. High-end AI servers produced by Supermicro, equipped with high-end NVIDIA chips, are strictly controlled by the United States and completely prohibited from being sold to China, Hong Kong, and Macau. You and two others are suspected of using false declaration documents to resell these Supermicro AI servers with high-end NVIDIA chips to China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Prosecutors today applied to the Keelung District Court for detention and solitary confinement. The International Trade Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that since October 2022, the United States has implemented strict controls on the export of AI servers and related high-end chips to China, and through the extraterritorial effect of export control regulations, requires non-US operators to comply. Domestic businesses should strictly adhere to relevant regulations. The Trade Administration pointed out that the government has repeatedly reminded businesses that when exporting high-tech goods, they must simultaneously comply with domestic and major international export control regulations to avoid violating the law or incurring subsequent legal risks. The Trade Administration further explained that Taiwan works with the international community to prevent the proliferation of weapons and illegal transactions. Taiwan has established export control regulations for strategic high-tech goods, requiring exporters to truthfully declare the purpose and ultimate user of the goods, and not to be involved in suspicious weapons proliferation or illegal transactions. Violations may involve administrative or criminal liability. The Trade Administration reminded that if businesses use false export documents to evade inspection, they may also be involved in crimes such as forgery under the Criminal Code. The Trade Administration emphasized that businesses must not use methods such as swapping or re-labeling to forge false documents for customs declaration and export, attempting to gain improper benefits by testing the law. They should implement due diligence obligations to ensure transaction compliance, to avoid damaging their reputation and rights due to illegal acts, and potentially suffering sanctions from other countries.