[News] U.S. Rumored to Mull Adding DRAM Giant CXMT and More Chinese Tech Firms to Entity List

With new chip tariffs possibly around the corner, Washington may be gearing up for another strike on China’s semiconductor sector. According to Reuters, citing Financial Times, the U.S. Commerce Department is weighing whether to slap more Chinese tech firms—including DRAM giant CXMT—onto its export restriction list.

In addition, sources cited by the reports suggest that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is also eyeing subsidiaries of China’s top foundry SMIC and NAND firm YMTC for possible inclusion on the Entity List.

As highlighted in a Reuters report, back in January, the Biden administration added 25 Chinese entities, including Zhipu AI, a large language model developer, and Sophgo, whose TSMC-made chip was said to be illegally used in a Huawei AI processor, to a U.S. restricted trade list.

Meanwhile, a previous Bloomberg report indicated that stricter export controls on chips from TSMC, Intel, GlobalFoundries, Samsung and others could have also been implemented, targeting processors with 30 billion transistors made on 14nm, 16nm, or more cutting-edge nodes.

Tricky Timing as China Extends Olive Branch

However, Financial Times points out that the timing of the move seems to be tricky, as a weekend trade deal in Geneva saw China and the U.S. agree to ease tariffs for 90 days.

It is worth noting that China has made the first move to show goodwill already, as it announced on Wednesday a pause on non-tariff measures targeting 17 U.S. entities named in April, including a 90-day suspension for 11 firms listed on April 4, as per Reuters. Another six firms added on April 9 also got a reprieve, though no timeline was given, the report adds.

Moreover, according to Reuters, for the 28 U.S. firms added to China’s export control list in April—16 on the 4th and 12 on the 9th—Beijing is suspending restrictions for 90 days. During this window, companies must still apply for permission to export dual-use items, the report indicates.

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• [News] Biden Tightens Control on 14/16nm Chip Exports; Expands Blacklist to Include China’s Sophgo

(Photo credit: CXMT)