Micron Technology Inc is a driving force pushing the US Congress to pass legislation that would put new export restrictions on equipment its Chinese competitors use to make their chips, according to people familiar with the matter.
A US House of Representatives panel yesterday was to vote on the “MATCH Act,” a bill designed to close gaps in restrictions on chipmaking equipment. It would also pressure foreign companies that sell equipment to Chinese chipmaking facilities to align with export curbs on US companies like Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc.
The bill targets facilities operated by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc (CXMT, 長鑫存儲), Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC, 長江存儲) and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (中芯), as well as critical technology nationwide.
Photo: Aly Song, Reuters
Micron has told lawmakers that Washington needs to do more to inhibit Chinese development in the memory market, according to people familiar with the matter.
They said increased US action is necessary to prevent China from dominating memory manufacturing the way it has the solar energy industry and other sectors, and it is a national security issue.
South Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc now dominate the memory market, with Micron being the third-largest maker and sole major US supplier.
However, YMTC and CXMT are growing fast, despite curbs on exports to them imposed by the US Department of Commerce.
YMTC has been on a restricted trade list since 2022, and CXMT’s advanced facilities have been subject to US export curbs.
The draft bill would restrict more equipment from going to China — including deep ultraviolet immersion machines countrywide, a market dominated by the Netherlands’ ASML Holding NV — and legislate how to impose restrictions if diplomacy fails.
It would also require a license for ASML and other foreign companies to service equipment at covered facilities.
The MATCH Act is only one of many bills tied to export controls to be voted on by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Others target the commerce department’s licensing, interagency process, entity list, enforcement and penalties.
A House foreign affairs panel staffer touted the slate as the biggest legislative push in the sphere since the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.
If the MATCH Act and other bills advance, it is only one step toward them potentially becoming law. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate and might eventually be included as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
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