Continued US Export Controls Could 'Erode' Standing of US Semiconductor Industry, Report Says
Continued U.S. restrictions on exports of technology to Chinese companies could have “profound negative repercussions” for the U.S. semiconductor industry, significantly depleting their global competitive standing, according to a March 9 report from the Boston Consulting Group. If current export control trends continue or escalate, leading to a further decoupling between U.S. and China, U.S. semiconductor companies could lose “8 percentage points of global share and 16% of their revenues,” the report said. And if the U.S. bans semiconductor companies from selling to Chinese customers, U.S. companies would lose nearly 40 percent of their revenues, the report said, leading to “severe” cuts in research and development and losses of thousands of jobs.
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The report, commissioned by the Semiconductor Industry Association, shows that the U.S. semiconductor industry will “see their competitive position erode” if the U.S. does not eat restrictions on technology exports, the SIA said. “Targeted restrictions on technology exports can play an important role in protecting our country, but any such controls should be multilateral, narrowly focused on technologies that pose direct and tangible national security risks, and avoid collateral negative impacts on U.S. semiconductor leadership,” the SIA said. SIA President John Neuffer recently said further restrictions on foreign exports to Huawei that contain certain percentages of U.S. controlled content, action currently being considered by the administration (see 2002050047), would have a chilling effect on the semiconductor industry (see 2002180060).