On Friday, the United States issues a new package of export restrictions designed to further curb China’s access to US semiconductor technology.
The Department of Commerce published the new rules on its website, including a ban on exporting to China any chips which are made using US technology and intended to use in artificial intelligence or supercomputers, without first obtaining an export license. There are also new limits on the sale of chip manufacturing technology to China, as well as new restrictions on all US citizens and entities, barring them from working with Chinese semiconductor manufacturers absent special permission from the United States government.
Some of the measures will take effect beginning this month. The commerce Department notes they are designed to “prevent sensitive technologies with military applications from being acquired by [China’s] military, intelligence, and security services.”
Just prior to issuance of the new rules, the US classified YMTC, the top Chinese memory chip maker, as well as 30 other Chinese entities, as “unverified” companies, meaning the US government cannot inspect them, and therefore cannot grant any chip export licenses to them. This will allow these companies to later be blacklisted entirely, cutting them off from access to any US chip technology.
A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling the new US restrictions unfair, and predicting they would backfire, and “hurt the interests of US companies.”
The spokesman’s statement said, “In order to maintain its sci-tech hegemony, the US has been abusing export control measures to wantonly block and hobble Chinese enterprises… It will not only harm Chinese companies’ legitimate rights and interests, but also hurt the interests of US companies. It will hinder international sci-tech exchange and trade cooperation, and deal a blow to global industrial and supply chains and world economic recovery.”
For its part Taiwan, a major hub of semiconductor manufacturing and home to TSMC, the world’s largest advanced chip manufacturer, said it would comply with the new US rules, despite the fact China is its largest trading partner.
In a statement in response to the new rules, Taiwan’s Economy Ministry said, “Taiwan’s semiconductor industry has long served global customers and attaches great importance to compliance with laws… In addition to complying with domestic laws and regulations, it will also cooperate with the needs of international customers who place orders and the norms of customers in their countries.”
The Daily Financial Trends