United States – Eyes on Chips

1. White House: The Biden administration is reportedly preparing an executive order to implement new restrictions that may ban U.S. investment in some Chinese technology sectors and increase scrutiny of U.S. investment in other Chinese sectors.

2. Congress: Lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) urged the US Department of Commerce to impose tougher rules to prevent semiconductor manufacturers from using new CHIPS Act subsidies to enable stock buybacks.

3. Industry: The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) published a report, pointing out that the current economic downturn does not change the reality that the long-term growth prospects for semiconductors remains promising.

Multilateral Export Controls Deal Starts Moving

At the end of January, the U.S. reportedly secured an agreement with the Netherlands and Japan to restrict exports of some advanced chipmaking machinery to China.

Japan to implement milder chips-equipment curbs: Japan will amend a foreign exchange law to deliver its commitment this coming spring. However, this new regulation might not mention China specifically to avoid retaliatory measures. According to Akira Amari, a former Liberal Democratic Party minister of economy and industry, “the United States is being strict, but there is a question of whether we have to exactly match that. What we do share is a recognition of the concern over the equipment.”

Netherlands to discuss this deal, but remain mindful of China’s reaction: A committee of the Dutch parliament will convene on March 8 to discuss the country’s chips export controls deal agreed with the United States and Japan. The agenda reads as “Technical briefing by State Department officials on the possible deal between the US, the Netherlands and Japan on the export of chip machines to China and China’s response to it.”

What We’re Watching

1. On February 16, the European Union Trade and Technology Dialogue (TTD) will hold a stakeholder event on the EU-U.S. TTC Joint Roadmap for Trustworthy AI and Risk Management.

2. On February 16, the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) will hold a webinar assessing the U.S. outbound investment into Chinese AI companies.