US Deploys Semiconductor Equipment in Huawei Restrictions

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The United States is considering tightening regulations on domestically produced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to curb Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 17th (local time), citing sources, that the U.S. government is considering regulations requiring semiconductor manufacturers worldwide to obtain licenses from relevant authorities if they use U.S.-made semiconductor manufacturing equipment to supply semiconductors to Huawei.

Since manufacturing telecommunications equipment without semiconductors is impossible, the intention is to effectively block the supply of semiconductors made using U.S. semiconductor equipment to Huawei.

WSJ reported that the U.S. Department of Commerce has drafted a revision to the so-called "foreign direct product rule," which includes such regulations. The foreign direct product rule restricts the use of U.S. military or national security-related product technologies by foreign companies.

Regulations on semiconductor manufacturing equipment have been discussed within the Trump administration over recent weeks. However, President Donald Trump has not directly reviewed these regulations, and they have not received full support within the administration.

Nonetheless, if these regulations materialize, WSJ warned that not only American semiconductor equipment manufacturers dominating the global market, such as Applied Materials and Lam Research, but also the global semiconductor supply chain?including Taiwan's TSMC, which manufactures semiconductors ordered by Huawei on a contract basis?could face disruption.

The U.S. government placed Huawei on a blacklist in May 2018 citing national security concerns. Accordingly, U.S. companies must obtain prior approval from the U.S. government to conduct transactions such as parts sales with Huawei.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is also pursuing further regulatory tightening targeting Huawei. This aims to close a loophole allowing third-country semiconductor manufacturers to supply Huawei without a U.S. government license for products containing less than 25% U.S.-made components. To this end, the Department of Commerce is pushing to lower the U.S.-made component threshold to 10% to strengthen regulations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.