Global tech industry begins halting sales to Russia

Walid Berrazeg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images — (Image credit: People walk past a TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) logo at the Taiwanese semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company building in Hsinchu.)

Tech companies around the world have begun suspending deliveries to Russia in compliance with international sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions, announced by the Biden Administration on February 24, cover restrictions on the sale of semiconductors and computers.

The sanctions also include an expansion of the Foreign Direct Product Rule, which forces tech companies who work with American-made tools and software to obtain a license from the US government before dealing with companies that support the Russian military.

AMD and Intel have reportedly halted sales of processors to Russia already, with Intel providing the following statement to PC Gamer's sister site, Tom's Hardware: "Intel complies with all applicable export regulations and sanctions in the countries in which it operates, including the new sanctions issued by OFAC [Office of Foreign Assets Control] and the regulations issued by BIS [Bureau of Industry and Security]."

While Russia has its own chip designers, companies like Baikal Electronics are "fabless" and reliant on outsourced fabrication. And on February 27, the Economy Ministry of Taiwan, home to major chip manufacturer TSMC, announced it was joining the list of countries imposing sanctions on Russia. "Domestic semiconductor manufacturers have also expressed that they will abide by the laws and closely cooperate with government measures," the Ministry said.

Jody's first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia's first radio show about videogames, Zed Games. He's written for Rock Paper Shotgun, The Big Issue, GamesRadar, Zam, Glixel, Five Out of Ten Magazine, and Playboy.com, whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody's first article for PC Gamer was about the audio of Alien Isolation, published in 2015, and since then he's written about why Silent Hill belongs on PC, why Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is the best fantasy shopkeeper tycoon game, and how weird Lost Ark can get. Jody edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and he eventually lived up to his promise to play every Warhammer videogame.