The Biden administration is reportedly planning to announce additional regulations to prevent the influx of advanced semiconductors made by Samsung Electronics and TSMC into China as its term comes to an end.
On the 15th (local time), Bloomberg News cited multiple anonymous sources, stating that the additional regulations are expected to be made public as early as that day, with provisions likely requiring semiconductor manufacturers, such as Samsung Electronics, TSMC, and Intel, to conduct more thorough investigations and due diligence on their clients.
The Biden administration announced new artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor export controls targeting China on the 13th, and based on this, further regulations are anticipated. This measure is to prevent circumvention after it was confirmed that semiconductors manufactured last October by the world's largest foundry, TSMC, ended up with the U.S. sanctions target Huawei.
According to sources, the draft of this regulation includes provisions related to semiconductors at 14 NANO (nanometer, 1 billionth of a meter) or below that would be subjected to separate global controls and require government approval for sale in China and other regions. However, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) under the U.S. Department of Commerce did not provide a separate comment.
In response, the U.S. semiconductor industry is expressing opposition. Six semiconductor-related organizations, including the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), voiced their concerns in a letter sent to President Biden on the 13th regarding the AI chip export controls announced on that day and the subsequent regulations expected to be released this week.
The organizations stated, "We understand that this additional regulation will impose much stricter controls on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) without considering how it will impact U.S. corporations or the potential loss of market share to global competitors." They added that, "Current regulations under consideration have been developed again without proper consultation with the industry or opportunities for public input, despite the long-term effects and economic and international implications."