The U.S. should have placed export controls on a broader range of semiconductors, including legacy chips, as part of its efforts over the last year to restrict sales of advanced semiconductors to China, said Nazak Nikakhtar, a former acting Bureau of Industry and Security undersecretary. She said a lack of legacy chip controls is allowing China to dominate that sector of the industry and grab market share away from companies in the U.S. and its allies, including South Korea and Taiwan.
Chip Export News
The U.S. maintains export controls on chips, semiconductors, and related technology to China and Chinese companies such as Huawei. The following are recent ECD articles about chip export controls:
Although Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML doesn’t expect the new U.S. export controls on China to have a “material effect” on the firm's financial outlook for 2023, it's preparing for the new rules to restrict more sales of its chipmaking equipment.
LONDON -- The Bureau of Industry and Security hopes to publish the final version of its Oct. 7 China chip controls in October, said Liz Abraham, senior adviser for international policy at BIS.
The Netherlands last week published new export controls over certain advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a step aimed at bringing Dutch policies more closely in line with strict U.S. export licensing requirements against China. The measures, previewed by the government in March (see 2303090032), take effect Sept. 1 and will require exporters to apply for and receive an authorization before shipping a “number of very specific technologies for the development and manufacture of advanced semiconductors.”
The Biden administration could first release its outbound investment screening regime as a trial period and then expand the restrictions to cover broader investments after the initial year, said Anna Ashton, director of China corporate affairs at the Eurasia Group. Ashton, speaking during an April 21 event hosted by the University of Virginia's Miller Center, also said current U.S. chips subsidies will fall far short of making up for lost U.S semiconductor exports to China, while other experts said they fear U.S. chip export controls (see 2210070049) will continue to cause foreign companies to “design-out” American technology and software.
The Netherlands this week announced plans to impose new export controls on advanced semiconductor production equipment, a move the U.S. hopes will align it more closely with American restrictions on exports to China. The new Dutch controls (see 2302160011) will target specific chip technologies “in which the Netherlands has a unique and leading position,” Trade Minister Liesje Schreinemacher said in a letter to the country’s parliament, adding that any additional restrictions should be imposed multilaterally.
Dutch chip company ASML may have violated export controls stemming from a data theft incident involving a now former employee, the company said in its 2022 annual report released this week. The semiconductor company also said it’s expecting the Netherlands to impose new export restrictions on advanced chip-related items to China but doesn’t expect the measures to take effect for “many months.”
New U.S. chip export controls are among the most complex export regulatory provisions ever published and have caused significant uncertainty in the semiconductor industry, trade groups and technology firms told the Bureau of Industry and Security in comments that were due this week. More than 40 companies, trade associations, law firms and others asked BIS to revise parts of the regulations or offer more guidance to avoid hurting U.S. competitiveness, with some saying the new controls may force foreign companies to stop using U.S.-origin items altogether rather than deal with the added compliance obligations.
Japan and the Netherlands will soon join the U.S. in imposing export restrictions on certain advanced semiconductor machinery destined to China, Bloomberg reported Jan. 26. Although the three countries have been discussing the controls for months, the report said talks were expected to conclude Jan. 27 and would result in new, expanded Dutch restrictions on ASML and new Japanese controls on Nikon. The Netherlands will prevent ASML from selling “at least some” of its deep ultraviolet lithography machines to China (see 2301250022), with Japan setting “similar limits” on Nikon, the report said, adding that the countries haven’t yet decided on a date for a public announcement.
ASML, the Netherlands’ flagship semiconductor company, said it saw higher-than-expected fourth quarter revenue and expects a 25% increase in net sales this year despite challenges caused by existing and potential future export controls against China. The company also declined to predict whether the Netherlands will join the U.S. in imposing similar chip export restrictions but warned that broad controls could severely damage the semiconductor industry.