U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, on Thursday signed a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce calling for stronger semiconductor technology controls against China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC).
The letter noted that Dutch semiconductor company ASML announced earlier this month that it will continue to sell deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) tools to SMIC after a volume purchase agreement that was scheduled to expire last year, extending the agreement through 2021. Although controls on these tools were lifted in 2014, the technology remains advanced and only one company is able to provide this advanced manufacturing equipment and to manufacture advanced semiconductor wafers on a large enough scale to pose a threat to national security and diplomatic interests.
The joint letter emphasizes that SMIC poses a clear threat to U.S. national security due to its designation as a Communist Party of China military company and its inclusion in China’s defense facilities and its national strategy for civil-military integration. The company plays a role in helping the Chinese military seek to “‘displace’ the United States from global leadership in the future,” so it is in the U.S. national security interest to prohibit the transfer of goods that could support SMIC’s semiconductor production.
The two lawmakers jointly noted that preventing Dutch companies from selling related equipment to SMIC and working directly with allied governments is the best way to mitigate this threat.
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