US chip industry calls for no more restrictions on China

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has called on the US administration to avoid further restrictions on chip sales to China. The SIA statement noted that strong economic and national security require a strong US semiconductor industry, and recalled that the government took historic steps last year to enact the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen the sector’s global competitiveness and de-risk supply chains. The statement noted that allowing the sector continued access to China, the world’s largest commercial market for commodity semiconductors, is important to avoid undermining the positive impact of this effort, and emphasized that repeated steps to impose overly broad, vague, and sometimes unilateral restrictions risk reducing the US semiconductor industry’s competitiveness, disrupting supply chains, causing significant market uncertainty, and leading to ever-increasing retaliation from China. The statement called on both governments to de-escalate tensions and seek solutions through dialogue rather than escalate further tensions, adding: “We urge the administration to refrain from further restrictions until we engage more broadly with industry and experts to determine whether current and potential restrictions are narrowly and clearly defined, consistently applied, and fully coordinated with allies.” Media reports have indicated that the U.S. Commerce Department could take action this month to halt unlicensed shipments of chips by Nvidia and other chipmakers to customers in China and other relevant countries. China has also restricted exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making chips and electronics, citing “national security and interests.”