Key lawmakers push to cut off Huawei suppliers from US chip gear – Technologist

Key US lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to block Huawei Technologies suppliers from buying American chipmaking gear, escalating efforts to prevent the sanctioned Chinese telecoms giant from making progress on semiconductor manufacturing.

The top Republican and Democrat on the House China Select Committee outlined their concerns in a letter Wednesday to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, whose agency oversees a pivotal trade restriction list as well as broader export controls on advanced chips and manufacturing tools. They pointed to Chinese companies Pengxinxu, SwaySure Technology, Qingdao Si’En and “potentially many others” as likely members of Huawei’s “clandestine network,” citing Bloomberg reporting.

The US and its allies have broadly blocked sales of the most advanced chips and manufacturing gear to China, including from three American firms – Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA – as well as Dutch lithography system maker ASML Holding and Japanese toolmaker Tokyo Electron.

Washington has also imposed additional sanctions on a host of Chinese companies, including Huawei and Shanghai-based partner Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), that bar purchases of American technology without a US government license. Chinese companies not on the so-called entity list can still access fairly mature chip equipment without Washington’s approval.

“We must continue in our efforts to deny Huawei, and similar firms, the ability to access US technology,” wrote Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, a Republican, and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat. Failing in that effort would only benefit a small number of US chip tool companies “at the expense of chip makers worldwide who cannot sell their chips, undermining the intent of the Huawei listing, and harm our national security”, they said.

A Commerce Department spokesperson said they “have received the letter and will respond through the appropriate channels”.

The goal of the US-led campaign is to prevent China from developing a cutting-edge semiconductor industry that could benefit its military. Washington is particularly focused on Huawei, which unveiled a smartphone last year that was powered by an advanced 7-nanometer chip from SMIC. The processor was widely considered a breakthrough that was difficult to achieve given existing technology curbs, prompting calls for further restrictions and a US government probe.