The Biden administration is tightening restrictions on China’s ability to buy advanced semiconductors, fueling friction with U.S. businesses that sell to the vast Chinese market. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said it would significantly constrict exports of artificial-intelligence chips, making it tougher for U.S. companies Nvidia and Intel to sell existing products in China—or to introduce new chips to circumvent the rules. The move aims to close perceived loopholes in export controls announced a year ago, which themselves had faced strong opposition from the global semiconductor industry and escalated tensions with Beijing. The goal, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters, is to limit China’s “access to advanced semiconductors that could fuel breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and sophisticated computers.” The chips are critical to Chinese military applications, she said, a nod to concerns that the U.S. could fall behind China in key defense technologies. The updated rules significantly expand the U.S. government’s authority to determine what products U.S. companies can and can’t sell in the name of national security. Shipments of high-end AI chips, including those developed by Nvidia and Intel for the Chinese market, are banned without a license. And “gray zone” chips just below those thresholds will now require notification to the government, which can then deny their sales. The Semiconductor Industry Association, a U.S. chip-industry group, blasted the rules in a statement. “Overly broad, unilateral controls risk harming the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem without advancing national security as they encourage overseas customers to look elsewhere,” the group said. Chinese officials have criticized U.S. chip controls as violating international trade rules and destabilizing the global chip industry in an attempt to constrain China’s economic growth. Beijing has retaliated by banning the sales of some chips made by U.S.-based Micron Technology and restricting the exports of materials critical to semiconductor manufacturing.
Full story : U.S. Tightens Curbs on AI Chip Exports to China, Widening Rift With U.S. Businesses.
