The International Trade Commission is preparing for new Chinese export controls on germanium and gallium to have a potentially “significant” impact on global supply chains, it said in a recently issued executive trade briefing (see 2307050018).
Exports to China
China’s Ministry of Commerce criticized the latest semiconductor export control rule released by the U.S. last week, saying it has “overextended the concept of national security, arbitrarily modified rules, and tightened control measures.” That the U.S. issued an export control update “less than half a year after the last time” has caused “huge uncertainty.”
U.S. government officials at the Bureau of Industry and Security’s annual conference last week underscored the value of Mandarin-language skills when conducting due diligence on potential Chinese customers.
Beijing this week urged the Netherlands to continue allowing its companies to service and repair semiconductor equipment in China, saying Dutch companies should fulfill their “contractual obligations” with their Chinese customers.
The U.S. is pushing foreign governments to stop their semiconductor companies from servicing certain advanced chip tools under pre-existing contracts with Chinese customers, Bureau of Industry and Security Undersecretary Alan Estevez said.
U.S. export controls on clean technology goods to China would likely be “ineffective” and could backfire on American businesses trying to develop the next generation of green energy products, a researcher for a major European think tank said in a new report this month. The report argues that solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies don’t warrant new controls because they have “no dual-use or human-rights applications,” and restrictions could further strain the already fraught U.S.-China relationship.
Four Republican House members led by Rep. Nathaniel Moran of Texas have asked the Commerce and State departments to describe the measures they are considering to counteract what appears to be increasing collaboration between China and Iran on military drone development and distribution.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Implementation Act, which gives the Federal Maritime Commission power to investigate allegations against shipping exchanges, passed the House March 21 by a vote of 393-24. It also directs the FMC to establish standards for price indexes published by shipping exchanges, such as the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.
China’s Commerce Ministry urged the U.S. against placing new export controls on companies linked to Huawei after hearing the U.S. is reportedly considering adding them to the Commerce Department’s Entity List.
China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. “potentially” violated U.S. export control laws by producing 7 nanometer computing chips with American equipment it obtained before the Bureau of Industry and Security imposed updated export controls on chip-making tools last year, BIS Undersecretary Alan Estevez said.