An image displays rows of silicon wafers. The semiconductor industry has become deeply globalized over the past 30 years. But the cold tech war between the United States and China, which are the two most important markets for electronics, now risk untangling that interconnected web.
The United States and China have been locked in a technology cold war for several years. The COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, is now pressuring Washington to make even stronger moves against Beijing by fueling anti-China sentiment among U.S. voters and legislators alike. But the White House’s latest attempt to increase export controls on China and limit Beijing's overall access to U.S. technology will come at the cost of further fragmenting the global tech sector’s highly integrated supply chain network. Expanded Export Controls On April 28, the U.S. Commerce Department issued new rules that broaden the scope and dual-use goods subject to U.S. export controls, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment: The first rule change expands the Commerce Department’s definition of military end-use to include items that also support or contribute to the operation, installation, maintenance, repair, overhaul, refurbishing, development or production of military items. Under...
