Hi all, just found this article from Bloomberg which is extremely (!) interesting. If true, this could spark massive demand for Aixtron products by Chinese players as they could no longer order with Veeco. Enforces the thought that China needs to build an own semiconductor supply chain for which Aixtron would be a major beneficiary in my view. Regards, Fel
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U.S. Weighs New Move to Limit China's Access to Chip Technology
(Dow Jones) -- The Trump administration is weighing new trade restrictions on
China that would limit the use of American chip-making equipment, as it seeks
to cut off Chinese access to key semiconductor technology, according to people
familiar with the plan.
The Commerce Department is drafting changes to the so-called foreign direct
product rule, which restricts foreign companies' use of U.S. technology for
military or national-security products. The changes could allow the agency to
require chip factories world-wide to get licenses if they intend to use
American equipment to produce chips for Huawei Technologies Co., according to
the people familiar with the discussions. Chinese companies are bound to see
the action as a threat to them too, which is a goal of the proposed rule, said
the people briefed on the effort.
The move is aimed at slowing China's technological advancement but could risk
disrupting the global supply chain for semiconductors and dent growth for many
U.S. companies, U.S. industry participants said.
The changes have been under discussion for weeks, according to the people, but
were only recently proposed, and would come in addition to a separate rule
that would limit the ability of U.S. companies to supply Huawei from their
overseas facilities.
Not everyone within the administration supports the idea, and the changes
haven't been reviewed by President Trump, several of the people said. The
president has said he wants to allow U.S. companies to supply Huawei with
equipment that isn't deemed sensitive from a national security perspective.
The new rules are part of a series of measures Washington has taken in recent
months to restrict chip trade with China. The Commerce Department is expected
to push additional limits on the export of chips with some U.S. technology
content before targeting chip-production equipment, one of the people said.
Still, the proposal shows the blunt tools the Trump administration is prepared
to use in its bid to cut China off from America's semiconductor sector.
Semiconductor technology is a key area where China has struggled to cut its
reliance on foreign suppliers despite years of effort. Semiconductors rank
among China's largest imports from the U.S.
"They don't want any fab in the world to produce anything for Huawei -- that's
the goal," one person said, speaking of the chip fabrication plants that
likely would be affected by the new trade limits.
The Trump administration also is considering cutting off China from jet-engine
technology, another area where Beijing has struggled to shed reliance on U.S.
and European manufacturers.
Were the U.S. to restrict semiconductor-manufacturing tools, that could hurt
China's local chip industry, some of the people said, because it would be
difficult for Chinese chip makers to find adequate replacements from other
countries. It could also roil the chip-making supply chain by forcing
non-Chinese chip makers to choose between keeping Huawei as a customer or
buying American equipment.
Many U.S. and other Western officials see Huawei as an espionage risk because
it is a Chinese company and, they argue, couldn't resist government requests
for access to its data and equipment. Huawei says its equipment is secure and
can't be used to spy. It also says it has never spied on behalf of the Chinese
government.
U.S. chip-manufacturing tool makers, such as Applied Materials Inc. and Lam
Research Corp., are among the biggest in the industry. The equipment they make
is some of the most expensive machinery in the world. Setting up a modern chip
factory typically costs many billions of dollars, and new restrictions on U.S.
equipment could drive customers toward alternatives.
"It would be a huge disincentive for any fab to use U.S. equipment because
there would be a limitation on that versus Japanese or Chinese equipment," one
of the people said.
The restrictions, if enacted, could reverberate to semiconductor-design
companies, many of them American, that don't produce their own hardware but
rely on contract chip manufacturers.
Companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest
contract chip maker, typically have customers from across the world. Limiting
its Huawei business could hit sales and affect the manufacturer's ability to
invest in research and development.
More than 10% of TSMC total sales, which topped $35 billion last year, are
generated from Huawei's chip-making subsidiary HiSilicon, industry officials
estimate. TSMC doesn't break down sales by customers.
A company spokeswoman declined to address what might happen if the rule were
enacted and wouldn't comment on Huawei specifically.
The restrictions also could hit earnings for Applied Materials, Lam Research
and other U.S. chip-manufacturing machinery companies. The companies didn't
immediately respond to requests for comment.
Despite a recent breakthrough in U.S.-China trade talks, which produced a
phase-one deal last month, the Trump administration has looked for ways to
tighten the screws on Beijing, and especially on Huawei, which had about $122
billion in sales last year from its globe-spanning telecom empire.
After the U.S. last year imposed restrictions on sales of chips to Huawei,
some companies were able to continue their shipments by using a rule that
allowed license-free sales to the company if products were less than 25%
American-made. The Commerce Department has proposed reducing that threshold to
10%. The Defense Department, which initially objected to the tighter limit,
dropped its opposition to the plan, potentially clearing the way for it to go
forward.
U.S. government officials are slated to meet Feb. 28 to discuss the reduction
in the threshold and potential wider restrictions on manufacturing of chips
for Chinese customers, according to a person familiar with the matter. The
potential expansion of a U.S. export ban to include more Chinese companies is
also on the agenda, the person said.
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