- A semiconductor industry group on Monday called for a review of the Trump administration’s export control policy, and urged the incoming U.S. Commerce Secretary to work with allies when curbing sales of U.S. technology to China for national security.
SEMI, which represents semiconductor equipment makers and device manufacturers worldwide, said the prior administration’s unilateral rules had made any potential benefit likely to be less effective over time, had unnecessarily hurt American industry, and had left U.S. exporters vulnerable to retaliation.
“Multi-lateral controls - where items of concern are controlled by all major producing nations – create a level playing field, maximize effectiveness, and minimize harm to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness,” Manocha said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.Increasingly, Manocha noted, foreign competitors are marketing goods as “free from U.S. export controls.”
It urged the Commerce Secretary-designate to quickly correct an August rule that expanded U.S. authority over foreign company sales to China’s Huawei, which unintentionally affected some foreign-made semiconductor production and test equipment.