By Mackenzie Hawkins
The Biden administration plans to impose export controls on critical technologies, including quantum computing and semiconductor products, seeking to align key allies in a U.S.-led effort to thwart advances by China and other adversarial nations.
The planned rules target quantum computers and components, advanced chip-making tools, a cutting-edge semiconductor technology called gate all-around, and various components and software related to metals and metal alloys. They cover all global exports but include licensing exemptions for countries that implement similar measures. That group includes Japan and the Netherlands, among other allies, and the U.S. expects more nations to follow suit, the Commerce Department said in a news release.
The promise of more lenient licensing approvals offers an incentive for countries to join the American camp, given U.S. leadership in a range of academic fields and research partnerships. Washington has for years been cracking down on the ability of China and other adversaries to access cutting-edge technologies needed for artificial intelligence, out of fear that advanced chips and components could give Beijing a military advantage.
On Friday, ASML Holding NV — which makes chip equipment crucial to producing the most advanced semiconductors — said it can now turn to the Dutch government for approval to ship certain types of machines, rather than to the United States. And Taiwan’s economics minister said the island will follow Washington’s lead.
“We respect global norms,” Economic Affairs Minister Kuo Jyh-huei told reporters. “Taiwan cannot be independent of the norms of friendly countries around the world. I think we should follow their example.”
The U.S. effort has included unilateral measures that Washington has sought to coordinate with a handful of key allies (such as sweeping export controls on semiconductors imposed for the first time in 2022), as well as restrictions negotiated through a broader international framework, such as those issued Thursday.
“Aligning our controls over quantum and other advanced technologies makes it significantly more difficult for our adversaries to develop and deploy these technologies in ways that threaten our collective security,” Alan Estevez, who heads the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, said in a statement.
The United States and China are leading a global initiative by governments to explore quantum computing, which some argue will revolutionize the technology. While local experts have expressed concern about the impact of Washington’s sanctions on Beijing’s quantum technology efforts, it is still too early to say whether they are significantly altering research in China.
Years away from delivering world-changing performance, quantum computers promise speeds millions of times faster than classical computers. Countries around the world are investing billions of dollars in quantum computers in part out of fear of the military and economic advantages they could bring.
Thursday’s action opens a 60-day public comment period before officials issue a final rule.
The United States has been working on a new package of chip export controls on its own that would target China’s access to so-called high-bandwidth memory chips, an essential component of AI, as well as a range of semiconductor manufacturing tools, Bloomberg has reported. That effort includes measures with a global focus, but with exemptions for key allies such as Japan and the Netherlands, home to two of the most important companies in the chip supply chain.
Washington is pushing Tokyo and The Hague to adopt similar rules but has faced pushback from both governments, which are reluctant to harm their leading companies and, in Japan’s case, fear retaliation from China.
Both Japan and the Netherlands have already imposed some restrictions that align with the original U.S. rules in 2022, but with key differences that have frustrated American companies. Washington is working to close those gaps (with some recent progress in the Netherlands) and pursue a multilateral strategy on the latest potential measures.
“China opposes the US turning trade and technology issues into political issues and weapons,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing. “Obstructing normal cooperation in technology, trade and economic exchange violates the principle of market economy, destabilizes global industry and supply chains and benefits no one.”
First published: September 8, 2024 | 11:30 PM IS
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