The Right Time For Chip Export Controls

“The Right Time For Chip Export Controls,” an article co-written by Akin Gump international trade partner Kevin Wolf, has been published by Lawfare.

The article looks at the U.S.-China tech competition in the wake of the Biden-Harris administration’s imposition of wide-ranging semiconductor-related export controls on China. The authors begin by examining the rule published by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, where Wolf served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration.

The rule, they write, has five main parts, one of which banned any entity or individual from supplying leading-edge graphics processing units (GPUs) and electronics containing them to any other entity or individual in China. The band applies to all foreign-made GPUs as a result of the foreign direct product rule, which subjects any such chip made directly from U.S. tech or software to U.S. jurisdiction. They write, “Because all semiconductor fabrication facilities use at least some U.S.-made equipment, every such GPU on the planet is now subject to U.S. controls.”

The article then looks at the other four parts of the rule, chip export controls more generally, and their impact on trade and China’s capabilities, with one section devoted to China’s dependence on foreign sources for the types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment necessary to produce advanced semiconductors and the discussions between the U.S. and allies such as the Netherlands and Japan regarding the extent to which these restrictions can be applied.

To read the full article, click here.