US sanctions still allow Huawei 'case-by-case' access to chip-making equipment

Date:
Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Description:
The chair of the China Select Committee has criticized Bidens anti-China sanctions for not being uniform and effective.

FULL STORY

Despite very public efforts to limit Chinas access to advanced semiconductors and chipmaking equipment, a leading House Republican has accused Bidens administration of leaving loopholes that companies like Huawei are benefiting from.

The concern comes from none other than Representative John Moolenaar, the
chair of the chambers China Select Committee, who expressed his concerns in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Acknowledging that some restrictions, like curbs on high-bandwidth memory chips, have been largely successful, Moolenaar argued that other measures
have created opportunities for Chinese firms to bypass Americas sanctions, rendering them ineffective.

US restrictions on China deemed ineffective

Moolenaar highlighted rules that impose varied restrictions on different production facilities belonging to Huaweis chipmaking partner, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).

He criticized licensing policies allowing case-by-case sales to some SMIC facilities in Shanghai despite denying other shipments to its Beijing operations, and questioned why some Huawei-linked firms like Shenzhen Pensun Technology Co and SwaySure are subject to less stringent policies compared to others, such as Qingdao SiEn.

An extract from the letter (via Bloomberg ) reads: There is no national security justification for these loopholes. All of this, he says, raise[es] real questions about the culture at [The Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security] and why BIS continues to facilitate shipments of US technology.

Moolenaar has been instrumental to the US efforts to limit Chinas access to advanced technologies he and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi were the driving force behind adding many of the latest companies to the so-called entity list, announced earlier this week.

In his letter to Raimondo, Moolenaar is asking the Department of Commerce to preserve all documents and communications related to the restrictions so that US President-elect Donald Trump can properly identify any other loopholes.

A Commerce spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter, adding that it will respond through the appropriate channels.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/us-sanctions-still-allow-huawei-case-by-case-acc ess-to-chip-making-equipment

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