Authoritative US news agencies report that the Administration of President Joe Biden is going to prepare more decisive measures to control the export of semiconductors and machines for their production. Experts in the US financial market emphasize that this is another step in efforts to leave China without the ability to create the most advanced microcircuits in the world.
In 2022, Biden’s administration has already imposed new restrictions on microcircuits export from the USA. They are generally used for calculations in the field of artificial intelligence. It also includes the hardware used to manufacture some of the most powerful chips for processing mathematical calculations.
However, according to financial experts from the United States, the country’s government is considering additional export limitations. In particular, this issue addresses the limitations of manufacturing sophisticated memory chips used in the most advanced chip manufacturing tools.
According to them, the field of advanced quantum computing is also actively discussed in the most influential financial circles in the United States. U.S. officials are also considering adding Chinese technology companies to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s list of entities that prohibit exports without a license.
Many expected actions the Biden administration is set to announce are likely to expand restrictions it has already enacted on certain companies, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury representative. Now, they will be applied across the industry.
At the same time, sources said, the administration has been doing its best to find key allies so that the United States is not the only country imposing restrictions. Joint export controls by the US, Japan, South Korea, and European countries could significantly limit China’s chip industry. This may be because these countries have a monopoly on the production and sale of key hardware and software needed to manufacture highly developed chips.
The United States has already resorted to diplomatic efforts to limit China’s access to the equipment. So, they called on the Dutch government to block the sale of critical equipment to ASML Holding NV.
Recently, the US semiconductor industry has moved outside the country to Taiwan, South Korea, and China. According to US financial experts and lawmakers, this raises concerns about the vulnerability of the national security of the world’s most powerful country.
The US has long sought to limit the growth of China’s semiconductor industry by placing companies on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s export blacklist. This applies, in particular, to the telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies and the largest manufacturer of microchips, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.
The US government intends to invest tens of billions of dollars in semiconductors production. In August 2022, Joe Biden signed a law to support semiconductor manufacturers.
According to the document, in 2023, 52.7 billion dollars should be allocated for the development of semiconductor production in the United States. Hence, the new law should reduce the US dependence on foreign supplies and strengthen the country’s position in competition with China.