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In
a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and seen by
Reuters, Tom Cotton and Bill Hagerty said they were
"disheartened" by media reports suggesting the agency was
blocking efforts to tighten export controls on U.S. technology
destined for SMIC, which they say enjoys close ties to the
Chinese military.
Tightening the controls "would close an important loophole and
prevent the [Chinese Communist Party] and [the People's
liberation Army] from using U.S. technology to advance its
military modernization programs," the senators said in a letter
dated Jan. 31, asking whether Raimondo supports added
restrictions.
The Commerce Department and Semiconductor Manufacturing
International Corp (SMIC) did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
The Trump administration placed SMIC on the U.S. Department of
Commerce's trade blacklist in late 2020 over concerns that SMIC
aids China's military.
Normally, U.S. suppliers are required to apply for a special
license - which faces a tough standard of review - before
shipping any U.S. items to a company on the blacklist.
However, when the Trump administration added SMIC to the list,
it only applied that tough standard of review to highly
specialized chipmaking equipment destined for the Chinese firm,
granting a "case by case" review process for other U.S. items.
In practice, that has meant license applications have gotten
tied up in lengthy review processes as policymakers debate
whether to approve them. It has also angered some China hawks,
after documents showed suppliers to SMIC obtained billions'
worth in licenses.
Reuters reported in December that the Biden administration has
not decided whether to block more sales of U.S. chipmaking
equipment to SMIC, but raised the possibility of discussing it
further with allies.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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