The U.S. Department of Commerce announced today new restrictions of exports of American advanced information-technology equipment—including quantum computing components, semiconductor-making tools—to any country which doesn’t prohibit such semiconductor- and artificial intelligence-related exports to China and Chinese companies.
The Biden Administration’s justification for these new export controls, which have the effect of secondary sanctions, is “national security and foreign policy reasons.” There is increasing resistance, exemplified by The Netherlands and South Korea, to comply with American “national security and foreign policy reasons” against their own economies, according to CNBC report Sept. 6. Christophe Fouquet, CEO of the Dutch company ASML, which is the leader in very precise machinery for fabricating semiconductors, is reported by Reuters to have called the escalating U.S. restrictions “economically motivated,” effectively a chip war not only against China, but targeting U.S. allies’ capacities. “I think to make case that this is about national security is getting harder and harder,” Fouquet said. South Korea’s Trade Minister said it may not comply with the new export restrictions unless the U.S. “offers more incentives.”
