US lawmakers call on Japan to tighten restrictions on chip shipments to China
Kyiv • UNN
U.S. lawmakers are demanding that Japan tighten restrictions on the sale of chip manufacturing equipment to China. They warn of possible sanctions for Japanese companies if Tokyo does not take action.
Key U.S. lawmakers have called on Japan to tighten restrictions on the sale of chip manufacturing equipment to China. They warned that if Tokyo does not take any action, Washington may impose its own restrictions on Japanese companies. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that leading Republicans and Democrats in the House Committee on China Affairs outlined their concerns in a letter dated October 15 to Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shigeo Yamada, which was reviewed by the agency.
They rejected arguments that the restrictions had a significant negative impact on chip equipment companies such as Tokyo Electron Ltd. The letter cites the rise in the share prices of Tokyo Electron, ASML Holding NV, Lam Research Corp. and Applied Materials Inc. as well as chip subsidy programs in the United States and the European Union.
The letter from the lawmakers also emphasizes concerns about China's ability to produce less advanced processors.
The appeal says that without multilateral efforts to address these problems, the supply of American, Japanese, and Dutch chip manufacturing equipment will give Beijing “a functional veto over our countries' ability to produce our weapons systems and modern consumer goods at the required level.
Although lawmakers would prefer a multilateral solution, they emphasized that the United States has other options. One of them is the use of the so-called Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR), which allows Washington to regulate goods manufactured abroad with even the most minor American technology.
