US chipmakers oppose proposed export rule changes amid Covid-19 crisis

In a letter sent on Monday, nine groups urged U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to allow public comment before putting the rules into effect to avoid unintended consequences

Industry groups are pushing back on proposed changes to U.S. export controls that would impact the sale of certain semiconductors and other technology to China, while highlighting the role chips play in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter sent on Monday, nine groups urged U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to allow public comment before putting the rules into effect to avoid unintended consequences. The changes may “result in significant impacts to the semiconductor industry, its global supply chain, and the broader technology sector,” said the letter, signed by the Semiconductor Industry Association and the National Foreign Trade Council, SEMI, and six other groups.

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Noting the public health crisis, it added: “Semiconductors drive the functionality in advanced medical equipment used by health professionals to treat the public,” and enable telework. Reuters reported last week that senior U.S. officials agreed on new ways to control high-tech exports to China. The changes are aimed at preventing China from obtaining advanced U.S. technology for commercial purposes and diverting it to military use, sources told Reuters.

The previous week, Reuters also reported that the officials agreed to require foreign companies that use U.S. chipmaking equipment to obtain licenses before supplying certain chips to China’s Huawei Technologies. Ajit Manocha, president of SEMI, which represents the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing supply chain, sent another letter on Friday to President Donald Trump saying the change would harm U.S. exports of chipmaking equipment, which bring in over $20 billion a year.