US Semiconductor Association: "Will Only Cause Chinese Retaliation"... Opposes Additional Export Controls

"It could cause significant market uncertainty and risk only expanding China's retaliatory measures."

As the Biden administration in the United States is expected to soon implement semiconductor export controls against China, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), which includes Intel, Nvidia, and Samsung Electronics, urged restraint on additional regulations. They also requested continued access to the world's largest market, China.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 17th (local time), SIA released a statement titled "Statement on Potential Additional Semiconductor Regulations by the U.S. Government" on its website, saying, "Repeated (China-related) measures that impose overly broad, vague, and sometimes unilateral restrictions will undermine the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry." SIA is an association comprising U.S. semiconductor companies such as Intel, IBM, Qualcomm, Nvidia, as well as Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC.

SIA first stated, "Recognizing the need for a strong U.S. semiconductor industry for a robust economy and national security, Washington leaders took bold and historic action last year by enacting the Chips and Science Act (CSA) to strengthen our industry's global competitiveness and eliminate supply chain risks," adding, "To avoid undermining the positive impact of these efforts, it is important to allow the industry continued access to China, the world's largest semiconductor market."

They also defined the U.S. government's semiconductor-related China regulations as "repeated measures imposing overly broad, vague, and sometimes unilateral restrictions," pointing out that "there is concern these could weaken the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry and disrupt supply chains." Ultimately, SIA warned that this would lead to market uncertainty and an expansion of China's retaliatory measures.

SIA urged, "Both governments should seek solutions through dialogue to ease tensions." Furthermore, they called for restraint on additional restrictions until the industry and experts have broadly consulted on whether current and potential export restrictions are narrowly and clearly defined, consistently applied, and fully coordinated with allies.

The SIA statement drew attention as it was released amid expectations that the Biden administration will impose additional semiconductor export controls against China later this month. Recently, major foreign media reported that CEOs of semiconductor companies such as Intel and Qualcomm are meeting with U.S. officials in Washington D.C. to discuss the impact of these regulations.

Following the comprehensive export controls on advanced semiconductors and semiconductor production equipment used in artificial intelligence (AI) and supercomputers announced in October last year, the Biden administration is reportedly preparing to announce additional measures that will block exports to China even for lower-spec products. New regulations are also being discussed to prevent domestic companies and capital from investing in China's advanced technologies.

If these additional measures are officially announced soon, the recently resumed high-level U.S.-China dialogue could freeze again at any time. After China's regulations targeting Micron, semiconductors are once again emerging as a flashpoint in U.S.-China relations.

On the same day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated that the ongoing discussions on China-related regulations are not intended to block China's economic growth. During her visit to India to attend the G20 Finance Ministers meeting, Secretary Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg TV released that day, "Investment restrictions on China will only apply to certain sectors such as semiconductors, quantum computing, and AI," emphasizing, "They do not broadly affect U.S. investment in China nor fundamentally impact China's investment environment."

She stated, "What we are doing is not retaliation. These controls are designed to protect U.S. national security and, in some cases, address fundamental human rights abuses." When asked why it is taking so long for the Biden administration to take additional measures, she replied that they are verifying details to ensure proper implementation.

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