By George Leopold, EETimes (August 17, 2020)
The Trump Administration has moved to tighten chip export screws on China, further restricting access to U.S. advanced semiconductor manufacturing gear by adding more Huawei Technologies affiliates to its list of required licensees.
Caught unawares, the U.S. semiconductor industry groups expressed surprise at what one executive called the administration’s “sudden shift” away from a narrower approach to controlling chip gear exports.
The U.S. Commerce Department said Monday (Aug. 17) it will add 38 Huawei affiliates to its Entity List of companies required to obtain export licenses to purchase advanced U.S. chip technologies. The expanded list follows a May decision to slap stiffer U.S. export controls on American chip design software and manufacturing equipment. The new rules specifically target Huawei, its HiSilicon chip unit and other affiliates in an attempt to cut off access to leading edge chip technology.