Commerce Dept. Should Revisit Chip Controls, Industry Group Says
The Commerce Department should conduct a “comprehensive evaluation” of the export controls it has imposed on the U.S. semiconductor industry in recent years to determine whether they are achieving their goal of protecting national security, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said.
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The review should examine “the degree to which U.S. semiconductor technologies are ‘designed out’ globally and replaced by foreign competitors not subject to U.S. export controls jurisdiction or similar export control regimes,” SIA said in written comments to the Bureau of Industry and Security last month. Commerce should also "work together with other relevant agencies to assess whether other policy tools may be more effective."
SIA said the restrictions have caused many customers of American computing chips to shift to non-U.S. suppliers, raising questions not only about the efficacy of the controls but also about the impact on an industry that generates 70% of its revenue from overseas customers.
“SIA and its member companies understand export controls are necessary tools for safeguarding national security,” the association said. “But these policies must be designed to avoid unduly harming commercial innovation, manufacturing, employment, and continued American leadership in critical technologies.”
SIA urged Commerce to increase “engagement” with the private sector to ensure the export controls it formulates protect national security while enabling SIA member companies to maintain a competitive edge. The association said Commerce should revive the President’s Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA), as well as update the membership of the Bureau of Industry and Security’s technical advisory committees.
SIA also said the U.S. government should "align and implement U.S. export controls in a coordinated manner with other key supplier nations both to ensure the national security objectives of those actions are actually met and the U.S. semiconductor industry can compete on a level playing field around the world."
SIA made its comments in response to BIS’s interim final rule on foundry due diligence, which created new lists of trusted chip designers and service providers (see 2501150040). The association asked BIS to “swiftly publish FAQs to clarify key technical details and reduce regulatory uncertainty regarding specific provisions” in the rule, which the agency published in January.
In addition to export controls, the U.S. semiconductor industry is challenged by the state of international trade negotiations, SIA said. While other governments are aggressively pursuing trade deals to open markets for their domestic companies, the U.S. has negotiated none, “to the disadvantage of U.S. semiconductor companies and our global leadership,” the association said.