The US is pushing allies in Europe and Asia to tighten restrictions on exports of chip-related technology and tools to China amid rising concerns about Huawei’s development of advanced semiconductors.
Washington wants Japan, South Korea and the Netherlands to use existing export controls more aggressively, including stopping engineers from their countries servicing chipmaking tools at advanced semiconductor fabs in China, according to five people familiar with the conversations.
The Biden administration introduced sweeping export controls in 2022 that included a ban on “US persons” — American nationals and companies — from providing direct or indirect support to certain advanced chip factories in China. But there are far fewer restrictions preventing Chinese groups from hiring engineers from the allies.