The Commerce Department is planning to expand export controls over certain semiconductor items destined to China (see 2208010011) next month, including those used for artificial intelligence and chipmaking tools, Reuters reported Sept. 11. Commerce already outlined some new restrictions in letters earlier this year to KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials, Reuters said, which include new export licensing requirements on chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories capable of making chips more advanced than 14 nanometers. The new rules would also codify restrictions outlined by Commerce in letters to NVIDIA and AMD last month (see 2209010059), the report said.

New multilateral export controls on certain electronic computer-aided design (ECAD) software won’t have an immediate effect on semiconductor companies and are unlikely to cause wide concern in the short term, industry officials said. The controls, announced by the Bureau of Industry and Security Aug. 15 (see 2208120038) and effective in October, seek to restrict an emerging technology that may not be commercially available for at least two years, although officials say it remains unclear what exactly the restrictions will cover.

The Biden administration is considering a set of executive orders to restrict investment and sales involving advanced technologies in China, according to a Sept. 2 post on Medium from Semafor technology reporter Reed Albergotti. Citing people with knowledge of the plans, Albergotti said one order would “narrow” the types of technology that “can be sold to Chinese customers.” The other executive order, for which plans are still up in the air, would involve either a notification scheme for investments in certain technologies including semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, or a mechanism for the U.S. government to block such investments, similar to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or both, Albergotti said. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the executive order on investment as early as September, the post said. The White House did not comment.

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California-based Arteris, a multinational semiconductor company, said it received a warning letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security after it disclosed potential export control violations (see 2110130040). The company was given the warning earlier this year after BIS decided “not to refer this matter for criminal or administrative prosecution,” Arteris said in an August SEC filing.

The European Commission on Sept. 1 adopted two reports -- one on the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI) and one on the Export Controls Regulation, it said Sept. 2. The commission said it analyzed over 400 FDIs into the EU in 2021 to ensure that none of the money threatened EU countries' security, and found all but two EU member states have implemented screening mechanisms or are in the process of putting them in place. The commission carried out its FDI screening quickly, with 86% of assessments being completed within 15 calendar days, the commission said.

New export restrictions on microchips from NVIDIA, AMD and potentially other chipmakers come amid “a review of existing policies related to China and will potentially seek to employ a variety of legal, regulatory, and, when relevant, enforcement tools to keep advanced technologies out of the wrong hands,” a Bureau of Industry and Security spokesman said when reached for comment Sept. 1.

Chipmaker NVIDIA said the U.S. has imposed a “new license requirement, effective immediately,” on exports of certain chips to China (including Hong Kong) and Russia. The company’s Aug. 26 Securities and Exchange Commission filing said the government informed it that same day of the requirement, which covers the company’s A100 and H100 chips, as well as any future chips that meet performance thresholds equivalent to the A100.

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South Korea held an industry conference Aug. 25 to discuss and coordinate responses to the U.S.’s CHIPS and Science Act, which provides incentives for American semiconductor investments, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides tax credits for certain electric vehicles that are assembled in North America, and whose batteries are mostly sourced from allies. South Korea said it hopes to continue to express to the U.S. its “concerns” over certain provisions of the CHIPS law that it said violate World Trade Organization rules. The country is also planning a range of “countermeasures,” including “an early commencement of manufacturing plant construction to move up production timelines” in its EV battery and chip sectors.