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| America stresses exports to Chinese chip giant SMIC |
The US concluded that equipment supplied for military use posed an "unacceptable risk," and thus the US limited exports to SMIC, the largest chip maker in China.
Reuters saw that a letter from the US Commerce Department on Friday indicated that suppliers of certain devices must now apply to Semiconductor Manufacturing International for individual export licenses.
According to three people familiar with the matter, the latest move since earlier this year was a change in US policy when the US Commerce Department notified applicants seeking to sell "Military End User Licenses" to SMIC. These licenses were not required.
SMIC said it has not received any official notification of the restrictions and has nothing to do with the Chinese military. "SMIC confirmed that it manufactures semiconductors and provides services only to civilian, commercial and consumer customers," she added. "The company has nothing to do with the Chinese military and does not manufacture military end-users," she added.
SMIC is the latest major Chinese tech company to face US trade restrictions related to US national security or foreign policy concerns. Huawei's access denied by adding advanced chips to the Ministry of Commerce entities list.
It should be noted that SMIC's new classification is not as strong as the blacklist, which makes it difficult to obtain an export license.
The US Department of Defense said earlier this month: It is working with other agencies to determine whether SMIC is blacklisted for its alleged relationship with the Chinese military.
US companies that provide chip manufacturing equipment, including Lam Research, KLA Corp, and Applied Materials, may request a license to ship certain products at minimum wages.
The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security declined to comment specifically on the SMIC cases on Saturday, but said it would "continue to monitor and assess potential threats to US national security and interests." Foreign Policy ".
The United States government is paying increasing attention to Chinese companies supporting the Chinese military. Last month, the United States blacklisted 24 Chinese companies and audiences believed to be part of construction and military operations in the South China Sea in its first sanctions against Beijing over the controversial strategic waterway. .