The dark Satanic rumour mill manufactured a hell on earth yarn which said that the US government, was putting pressure on the Taiwan’s government to blacklist Huawei and prevent TSMC from making gear for the outfit.

However, TSMC said it wasn’t aware of any American request to cut off Huawei, which Washington blacklisted in May citing threats to US national security. Huawei has denied those claims.

Months after the Trump administration blacklisted China’s Huawei, its business continues to thrive while global technology firms remain unsure whether they can work with the Chinese company or not.

Taiwan and the US had been “in close communication” over information technology security issues, Taiwanese presidential spokesman Ernesto Ting said in a text message. “We believe TSMC and other Taiwanese companies will cooperate with the US. and other major countries to ensure tech security."

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross expressed optimism over the weekend that the US would reach a “Phase One” trade deal with China this month, and said licenses would be coming “very shortly” for American companies to sell components to Huawei.

It’s unclear whether the ban has fundamentally hurt Huawei so far, though its inability to offer the most popular Google Android apps is expected to hammer its smartphone business -- the world’s second-largest.