The U.S. government has delayed approving domestic companies such as Applied Materials and Lam Research to ship chip manufacturing equipment to China’s SMIC, sources said.
The U.S. government has delayed in approving domestic companies such as Applied Materials and Lam Research to ship chip manufacturing equipment to China’s SMIC, sources said. (Photo / CFP)
Last December, the Commerce Department of former U.S. President Donald Trump‘s administration put the semiconductor major on a trade blacklist out of suspicion over SMIC’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party‘s military. After that, many U.S. suppliers quickly applied for permission to ship equipment and materials estimated to be worth $5 billion.
Reuters reported that according to more than six industry sources, many permits were not granted; some were, including recent approvals for a small number of expensive devices.
The policy shift began after the inauguration of President Joe Biden in January, but the new administration has yet to fully decide what equipment should be sold to SMIC. SMIC makes chips for Qualcomm Inc. and other U.S. companies.
The Commerce Department’s inclusion of SMIC on its list means that U.S. suppliers will have to get permission before shipping to the company. This is unusual because the Commerce Department says most products should be approved on a case-by-case basis. However, equipment that can be used to make the most advanced 10-nanometer and smaller process chips may not be approved.
The U.S. government was supposed to make a decision within a month of the application being filed, but follow-up questions halted the process.
A spokesman for Fremont, California-based Colin R&D said yesterday, “Colin R&D is still in the application process and has not received a response to date.”
Separately, the treasurer of Santa Clara, California-based Applied Materials said in a Feb. 18 earnings call that its financial projections do not believe the license will be approved; an Applied Materials spokesperson would not comment further on the license this week.
SMIC did not respond to questions from the media on the issue, but has previously said that it only provides services for civilian and commercial end users and has no ties to the Chinese Communist military.
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