Taiwan has rescinded its chip export restrictions on South Africa.

These were announced on September 23 by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, which stated that the export of a majority of chips to South Africa would require pre-approval starting from November.

The announcement was made in response to South Africa’s attempts to downgrade Taiwan’s embassy by relocating it from the capital, Pretoria, to Johannesburg.

But Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on September 25 that it had received messages from South Africa requesting consultation, prompting the Ministry to effectively rescind its proposed restrictions.

The initial announcement was a disclosure of information issued prior to the formal notice procedure, which is necessary for the enactment of a law or regulatory order in Taiwan. The Ministry stated that it has since suspended the notice procedure, which would have seen the publication of the restrictions in the Taiwanese government’s information disclosure system, the Executive Yuan Gazette Center.

A spokesperson for the South African foreign ministry said the measures sought to “disrupt the stability of the global supply chain of semiconductors.”

This is the second time the Taiwanese government has sought to impose chip export restrictions. It successfully did so in June 2025, adding Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) to its export control list.