94Ha Viewpoint
The United States has launched a new round of regulatory measures to prevent advanced chips produced by TSMC and other companies from entering China, which is a last attempt to plug policy loopholes before the Biden administration leaves office.
Bloomberg reported that the new measures require chip manufacturers such as TSMC and Samsung Electronics to strengthen their scrutiny and due diligence of their customers, especially Chinese companies. The move is tantamount to an admission that advanced semiconductors are still being shipped to China and Russia, after it was revealed that chips made by TSMC were secretly shipped to Huawei.
The Commerce Department said in a press release that the sanctions announced Wednesday (January 15) target 16 Chinese companies that helped China build its own chip industry “at the request of Beijing.” The blacklisted companies include Suanneng Technology, which is suspected of helping Huawei obtain TSMC chips last year.
The press release said the United States will also expand licensing requirements for chip foundries (companies such as TSMC that produce chips for external customers) and packaging companies to export advanced semiconductors. Unless the chips are produced for “trusted” customers and can demonstrate that the processor’s performance is below a specified performance threshold, or the chips are packaged by an approved packager, they will be subject to stricter regulations.
“These rules will further strengthen our targeted controls to ensure that China and other countries that seek to exploit legal loopholes and undermine U.S. national security are not able to succeed,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo said in a statement Wednesday. “We will continue to strengthen our We will aggressively enforce regulations and proactively address new and emerging threats.”
