Taipei, Sept. 23 — Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has introduced new export controls requiring prior authorization for 47 high-tech items—including integrated circuits, semiconductor chips, and memory components—destined for South Africa.
The move comes in response to South Africa’s recent decision to downgrade and rename Taiwan’s diplomatic offices, a shift Taipei attributes to mounting political pressure from Beijing aimed at diminishing Taiwan’s global stature.
In its official statement, the MOEA warned that South Africa’s actions threaten Taiwan’s national security and public safety, and risk disrupting the country’s economic and trade operations. As a result, the ministry is revising export regulations for goods shipped from free trade zones, mandating government approval for the specified items.
The restricted list includes:
• Diode and transistor chips and wafers (excluding photosensitive and LED types)
• Mask ROM chips for hybrid integrated circuits
• Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) ICs
• Other LED components
The diplomatic trigger for these controls was South Africa’s unilateral announcement on July 21 to rename Taiwan’s representative offices. The offices—now titled the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town”—are no longer recognized as foreign missions but as “international organizations,” a reclassification that Taiwan views as politically motivated.
