The Biden administration is preparing new, harsher restrictions against the chipmaking industry in China. After a series of so-called “is informed” letters sent earlier this year to a few US companies, the Commerce Department now plans to turn these individual letters into a broader message to China: we won’t let you exploit our superior computer technology and know-how for your own gain.
The letters were sent to KLA Corp, Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc., and they were later confirmed to be authentic. The US Department of Commerce ordered the three companies to stop the export of chipmaking machines and equipment needed to make semiconductor components with sub-14 nanometer processes to China. Only sellers that obtained a proper export license from Washington should keep doing business with Beijing.
