Although officially not confirmed yet, Reuters reports that Biden’s administration is preparing a new round of sanctions that would stop exports of sub-14nm semiconductors with artificial intelligence capabilities and chip-making tools.
The Commerce Department has already sent letters to some of the big companies in the industry that work with China and supply chips to China-based companies. Some of the companies include Nvidia, AMD, and Intel, and the companies have publicly acknowledged these letters, but most officials refrain from commenting.
This sounds a lot like the current restrictions that allow US companies to work with China only after licensing from the Department of Commerce.
These letters are a common practice that ensures quick application, but only companies that receive the letter are required to comply. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department is working with Biden’s administration to produce rules that would apply to the entire industry and are expected to be officially revealed next month.
Some believe that US companies using such chips will also be denied access to the Chinese market. Such companies include Dell, HP and Super Micro Computer.
If this goes into motion, it spells trouble for China because, despite its technological advancements and manufacturing capabilities, there isn’t a single Chinese company that has the know-how or tools to produce competing modern chips on a large scale. This sector is dominated by the USA, South Korea and Taiwan. So this ban could serve as a bottleneck for China.
Biden’s office will seek the support of its allies outside the United States to make the ban more effective.
Start a new Thread