Republican Lawmakers Ask Commerce to Place Foundational Tech Controls on EDA Tools
Two Republican lawmakers urged the Commerce Department to place more restrictions on exports of electronic design automation tools (see 2104060045). In an April 13 letter, Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said they are concerned that EDA tools are being used by Chinese companies -- including Phytium Technologies, which was added to the Entity List this month (see 2104080011) -- to develop advanced weapons and support the Chinese military.
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McCaul and Cotton said Commerce should control EDA tools as a foundational technology under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018, apply the recently expanded foreign direct product rule restrictions (see 2012210044) on exports to Phytium and propose multilateral EDA controls at the Wassenaar Arrangement. “The export of advanced dual-use technology to any [Chinese] entity is effectively a direct delivery” to the country’s army, the lawmakers wrote. “Our export control system should reflect this reality.” Commerce has yet to issue a foundational technology control, which has frustrated and disappointed some lawmakers (see 2104070026). A Commerce spokesperson said April 15 that the agency received the letter and pointed to the addition of Phytium to the Entity List earlier this month. The Bureau of Industry and Security is “continually reviewing circumstances to determine whether additional actions are warranted,” the spokesperson said.