The United States is asking allies to stop domestic companies from servicing certain semiconductor-manufacturing equipment for Chinese customers, a US Commerce Department official said on Wednesday, as Washington ramps up efforts to hobble mainland China’s chip-making capabilities.
“We are working with our allies to determine what is important to service and what is not important to service,” said export controls chief Alan Estevez, speaking to reporters at an annual conference.
“We’re pushing for not servicing of those key components and these are discussions we are having with our allies.”
US allies resist Biden’s urge to tighten chip curbs on China
US allies resist Biden’s urge to tighten chip curbs on China
The Biden administration announced new restrictions on shipments of American-made chip-making tools to advanced Chinese semiconductor factories in 2022, and convinced key chip-making equipment producers Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit with their own controls.
The US rules made it difficult for American companies to continue servicing equipment that Chinese firms bought prior to the new regulations, but the Dutch and Japanese rules did not include similar restrictions.
That has spurred US officials to convince allies to mirror US curbs.
