U.S. Launches Semiconductor Supply Chain Review Due to China Concerns

The U.S. Department of Commerce said that it would be launching a new survey to analyze the nation’s semiconductor supply chain and industrial base December 21 in order to address the risks associated with Chinese-sourced chips.

According to Reuters, the survey aims to identify how American companies are sourcing legacy chips (current-generation and mature-node semiconductors) as the country looks to award almost $40 billion in subsidies to semiconductor chip manufacturers.

The Department of Commerce said it hopes the survey, which begins January 2024, can “reduce national security risks posed by” China. The department also said the survey will promote a level playing field for legacy chip production.

"Over the last few years, we've seen potential signs of concerning practices from (China) to expand their firms' legacy chip production and make it harder for U.S. companies to compete," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

In response to the survey’s announcement, the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. said that the U.S. "has been stretching the concept of national security, abusing export control measures, engaging in discriminatory and unfair treatment against enterprises of other countries and politicizing and weaponizing economic and sci-tech issues.”

China has invested almost $150 billion in its domestic semiconductor manufacturing supply chain over the last ten years, creating "an unlevel global playing field for U.S. and other foreign companies,” according to a report released by the Department of Commerce on the same day the survey was announced.