The US wants to prevent China from benefiting from US $ 52,000 million for chips

The US Commerce Department released proposed rules on Tuesday to prevent China and other countries considered worrisome from using $52 billion of funds earmarked for semiconductor research and manufacturing.

The proposal limits recipients of U.S. funds from investing in the expansion of semiconductor manufacturing in countries considered to be of concern, such as China and Russia, and limits the ability to engage in joint research or technology licensing activities with an entity foreign considered worrisome.

It also classifies some semiconductors as critical to national security, subjecting them to more stringent restrictions.

This measure covers chips that include “current-generation and mature-node ones used for quantum computing, in radiation-intensive environments, and for other specialized military capabilities”.

The Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, declared that “these safeguards will help ensure we stay ahead of adversaries for decades to come.”

The Commerce Department plans to begin accepting applications in late June for a $39 billion semiconductor manufacturing grant program. The law also creates a 25% investment tax credit for the construction of chip plants, estimated to be worth $24 billion.

In October, the department issued new export controls to block China’s access to certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world using US equipment, vastly expanding its reach as it tries to curb Beijing’s technological and military advances.

The rules build on restrictions sent last year in letters to manufacturers KLA Corp, Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc, effectively requiring them to stop shipments of equipment to wholly Chinese-owned factories that produce advanced logic chips.

Source: Reuters