The U.S. expects allies to eventually impose similar semiconductor export controls against China, said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, echoing comments by Commerce Department officials earlier this year (see 2210270047 and 2211040014). Sullivan, speaking Nov. 30 during a conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the South Korean JoongAng media group, said the U.S. “engaged in intensive consultations” with South Korea and Japan before the administration's latest chip controls were released in October (see 2210070049), which ultimately shaped how the restrictions were crafted and could lead to those two countries and other joining the U.S.
The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology this week extended until Dec. 12 its comment period as it solicits feedback on certain domestic semiconductor initiatives. NIST, which first requested comments in October, said it’s looking for feedback to “inform the design of, and requirements for, potential Manufacturing USA institutes to strengthen the semiconductor and microelectronics innovation ecosystem, which could include design, fabrication, advanced test, assembly, and packaging capability.” Responses will inform the agency’s “development of funding opportunities for federal assistance to establish Manufacturing USA semiconductor institutes,” a national network of linked manufacturing institutes aimed at bolstering U.S. technology innovation, as envisioned in the Chips and Science Act. Comments were originally due Nov. 28.
The U.S. is looking to “aggressively” reform and bolster its export controls and investment screening tools to counter China, particularly surrounding emerging and foundational technologies, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, speaking Nov. 30 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Raimondo outlined what she called the U.S.’s “economic competitiveness strategy” toward China, stressing that the administration isn't looking to sever trade ties with the country but that companies in sensitive sectors should be reassessing business with China.
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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., one of the primary movers behind the Chips Act, told an audience that more domains need policymakers' attention so that they don't wake up to find that China has become dominant in an important emerging technology. He noted that before becoming a politician, he "was in the telecommunication space," and said that realizing that China is dominating 5G with two heavily subsidized champion companies was the "final wake-up call" that engagement and deeper trade with China is not the right way to go.
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan, or any other type of “conflict” initiated against the island by Beijing, would have “immediate and dramatically negative effects on China’s ability to import and export goods” and would spur a range of international sanctions, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a Nov. 22 report. CSIS said the U.S. and other Western countries would impose strict sanctions and export controls against China, which would “probably persist for months or perhaps years after a conflict, even if U.S. military forces are defeated” in the case of a war.
Baidu, a major Chinese artificial intelligence company, said it doesn’t expect to be severely impacted by the U.S.’s new China-related chip controls. Speaking during a Nov. 22 earnings call, Executive Vice President Dou Shen said the impact of the restrictions will be “quite limited in the near future,” adding that a “large portion” of its AI cloud business “and even wider AI business does not rely too much on the highly advanced chips.” The company also has “already stocked enough in hand” for “the part of our businesses that needs advanced chips.”
Semiconductor companies are still awaiting licensing decisions on their chip-related activities involving China under the U.S.’s new export controls, with some concerned that licenses awarded to their competitors could hurt their revenue. In earnings calls and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month, U.S. chip and technology companies said they continue to prepare for drops in sales to China and that they fear Chinese customers may soon replace them with alternative suppliers, causing some U.S. companies to permanently lose their market share in China.
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The Netherlands doesn’t plan to mirror the U.S.’s recent chip restrictions on China (see 2210070049) “one-to-one” and will seek to impose export controls “on our own terms,” Liesje Schreinemacher, the country’s foreign trade minister, told Dutch news outlet NRC Nov. 18. Schreinemacher said the Netherlands has been talking “intensively” with the U.S. about export controls for two years, the report said, but a consensus on chip restrictions hasn’t been reached. But she also said a deal “could be reached within a few months,” the report said.