The Commerce Department of the United States of America will be hitting China with new restrictions on shipments of semiconductors in October, according to a report by Reuters.
The Biden administration is reportedly in the process of drafting letters informing relevant US companies of new regulations that will require further licenses to deliver chips to China.
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The new Commerce Department regulations that will impact computer chip giants like Nvidia Corp and Micro Devices will particularly cover powerful artificial intelligence chips, Reuters reported on Monday.
The Commerce Department resorts to such letters as a means of getting around the formal regulation process, but in such cases, the changes only affect companies directly contacted by the department.
It is expected that the final letters may include additional actions against China, according to the Reuters report.
A spokesperson for the Commerce Department on Friday declined to comment on specific regulations but reiterated that it is “taking a comprehensive approach to implement additional actions…to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests,” including to keep China from acquiring U.S. technology applicable to military modernization.
China accounted for approximately 64% of total global estimated production of silicon materials, a key ingredient used in the manufacture of semiconductors in 2019.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
