House Republicans urge tighter export controls on advanced chips

On Friday, Oct. 6, two senior Republican members of the United States House of Representatives urged the Biden administration to strengthen the enforcement of export controls on advanced semiconductors to China.

In a letter addressed to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Representative Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, stated that China’s leading semiconductor manufacturer’s recent technological advancements underscore the necessity for revising the comprehensive regulations introduced in 2022. They emphasize the need to address what they perceive as deficiencies or “loopholes” in the existing rules.

The letter follows the unveiling of Huawei Technologies’ Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which incorporates advanced chips manufactured by China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), despite U.S. sanctions.

McCaul and Gallagher stated in their letter: “The rules introduced on October 7 and the expanding capabilities of SMIC exemplify an inert and opaque bureaucratic system that lacks insight into China’s industrial strategy, fails to comprehend China’s military objectives, and exhibits a deficiency in technological comprehension. Additionally, it seems to lack the determination to take effective action.“

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The legislators called upon the Biden administration to modernize the regulations and promptly respond to Huawei and SMIC. They further encouraged the administration to terminate Chinese firms’ access to potent artificial intelligence chips obtainable via cloud computing services.

Additionally, they emphasized the importance of enforcing the administration’s existing regulations that impose restrictions on Chinese enterprises, particularly those that impede U.S. officials from verifying compliance with U.S. export regulations.

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