Executives from semiconductor and auto industries met last week to discuss the global chip shortage and again urged lawmakers to fund semiconductor legislation that could aid U.S. innovation. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation and the Semiconductor Industry Association held a joint “workshop” May 14 to discuss ways to end the chip shortage as “quickly and efficiently as possible,” the groups said in a statement. They said it will be “critical” to fund the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (see 2102180062) and plan to continue the “constructive dialogue” between industry and lawmakers to boost U.S. chip production.

The Senate likely will vote on the Endless Frontier Act next week and should pass the bill before the end of the moth, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said May 13. The bill, which would provide more federal funding and incentives for semiconductor research, has “strong” bipartisan support, Schumer said, and will help maintain U.S. technological leadership over trade competitors, including China. “The Endless Frontier Act would right the ship by making one of the largest investments in American innovation in generations,” Schumer told the Senate.

U.S. goods exports to China rose nearly 20% last year due to large volume shipments of U.S. agriculture products, semiconductors and energy goods, the U.S.-China Business Council said in a May 12 report. The USCBC said the increase -- from $105 billion worth of goods exports in 2019 to $123 billion in 2020 -- was partly driven by Chinese tariff exclusions and purchase commitments under the phase one trade deal with the U.S.

Semiconductor and technology companies are calling for increased federal semiconductor funding amid a congressional push to boost supply chain competitiveness and domestic innovation. The Semiconductors in America Coalition, which includes Semiconductor Industry Association members Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon Web Services and others, said its “primary focus” is to convince Congress to fund the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (see 2102180062), a bill passed earlier this year.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for May 3-7 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, when asked by a top government relations official at General Motors about the semiconductor shortage, said, "I can assure you that I begin and end each day thinking about this issue." Raimondo said she's spoken with the CEO of every major auto company in recent weeks as she seeks to find a way to ease the supply crunch, which could last into 2022. "We’re working hard to see if we can get the Taiwanese to prioritize the needs of our auto companies because there’s so many jobs on the line," said Raimondo, who was speaking at a virtual conference hosted by the Council of the Americas on May 4.

Potato industry groups and lawmakers applauded a ruling this week by Mexico’s Supreme Court that reversed a ban on potato imports from the U.S. (see 2102220022), clearing the way for more potato trade between the two countries. The ban stemmed from a 2017 lower court ruling siding with a Mexican potato cartel that argued the government had no authority to allow the imports.

As U.S.-China technology competition grows, Congress may consider mandating stronger export controls over U.S. research and semiconductor equipment, the Congressional Research Service said in a report this month. Congress might consider “assessing” whether Chinese efforts to target U.S. research and development capabilities “merits additional government oversight and controls over U.S. basic and applied research,” the report said. Congress might also consider more restrictions over “technical expertise that U.S. industry shares with China over open source technology platforms” and more controls over exports of semiconductor equipment, tools and software. The Commerce Department is reviewing candidate controls for its emerging and foundational technology process (see 2103190037) and has received pushback from universities that are concerned those controls could restrict fundamental research (see 2012020044).

Semiconductor industry officials are preparing to push for export control modernization over certain electronics on the Commerce Control List, which they say will help controls avoid unintended consequences on U.S. companies and more accurately reflect national security concerns. The effort, led by the Semiconductor Industry Association, will look to convince the Bureau of Industry and Security to update certain control parameters and definitions, and make technical changes in Category 3 of the CCL, which officials view as out of date.

The Justice Department hasn’t yet begun prosecuting cases involving violations of the Commerce’s Department's newly issued end-user restrictions but expects that to soon become a significant part of the agency’s focus, a senior Department of Justice official said.