Electronics

According to the report of Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, the Baid government plans to expand 17 categories (sets) of equipment sanctions of more than one million dollars to 34 categories (double). This restriction is a further upgrade on the basis of the semiconductor export control to China issued in October 2022.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, the Baid government is trying to further tighten the restrictions on China's export of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and constantly upgrade the rules aimed at preventing the country from developing advanced chip industry.

A person familiar with the matter said that the government had briefed American companies on the plan and told them that it was expected to announce new restrictive measures as early as next month.

These people said that these regulations may double the number of machines requiring special export licenses, thus creating new obstacles for equipment manufacturers such as applied materials. These people requested anonymity because the discussion was private.

Of the key machines worth millions of dollars to manufacture semiconductors, there are currently about 17 that need licenses, especially if Chinese customers try to buy these machines. According to people familiar with the matter, if the restrictions imposed by Tokyo and The Hague are included, the number (types of equipment sanctions) will double.

Looking back on October 2022, the United States has issued new regulations on restrictions on semiconductors to China, requiring American semiconductor manufacturers to obtain licenses to export relevant chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. This has limited the ability of wafer manufacturers in Chinese Mainland to obtain manufacturing equipment required for advanced logic process chips at 16/14nm and below, NAND flash memory chips at 128 layers and above, and DRAM memory chips with a half spacing of 18nm or less. In addition, the new rules also restrict Americans from engaging in chip manufacturing related work in Chinese Mainland, Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reported.

It is unclear how the United States will further upgrade restrictions on this basis. It is also unknown whether these new restrictions will be further extended from the original ones only for advanced manufacturing processes to those for mature manufacturing processes.

If the United States also includes the mature manufacturing process into the limit, it will undoubtedly cause extremely serious interference to the global semiconductor supply chain, and will also greatly affect the interests of its allies. The Bloomberg report also said that if the U.S. government further upgrades the restriction measures on the basis of the new regulations, it will once again disrupt the chip manufacturing industry that has been seriously affected by the new regulations last year.

It is believed that even if there are new restrictions, they should mainly focus on the restrictions on semiconductor equipment required for advanced process manufacturing. Some semiconductor equipment that can be used for advanced process and mature process manufacturing will also be included in the restrictions, but for the reasonable demand of such equipment, it is still possible to apply for a license, which can not only further limit, It can also reduce the impact on the global supply chain.

According to the report of Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, people familiar with the matter said that according to the latest regulations, the U.S. government plans to further coordinate with the governments of the Netherlands and Japan, two other key countries in chip manufacturing equipment.

Earlier last week, the Dutch government said it was preparing to restrict the export of certain chip manufacturing equipment. According to the latest statement of ASML, the export of some of its advanced immersion DUV lithography products will be restricted and can only be exported with permission. Before that, the export restrictions on its cutting-edge EUV lithography machine had existed. This equipment is crucial for the production of the world's most advanced chips.

According to a letter sent to legislators by the Dutch Foreign Trade Minister on Wednesday, these rules are expected to be published before the summer. However, unlike the United States, the Dutch government did not discuss the restrictions on its citizens, nor did it specify the restrictions on the end use of chip machinery. Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reported.

As for the Dutch government's follow-up to the new regulations of the United States, Japan's trade minister said at a regular press conference on Friday that Japan had not yet made a decision on restricting the export of chip manufacturing equipment. "We will consider taking appropriate measures according to the developments in the Netherlands. We understand that the statement of the Netherlands is not specific to specific countries."