According to Reuters, the Biden administration is planning a new set of penalties that would prohibit the export of sub-14nm semiconductors with AI capabilities as well as chipmaking tools, even though this is unofficially still unconfirmed.
The Commerce Department has already written to several of the major businesses in the sector that cooperate with China and supply chips to Chinese businesses. Nvidia, AMD, and Intel are a few of the businesses that have publicly confirmed receiving these letters, but the majority of the authorities choose not to comment.
This sounds a lot like the current limitations that only permit US businesses to operate with China after receiving permission from the Commerce Department.
These letters are frequently used to ensure prompt enforcement, but only the companies who get them are required to abide by the rules. The Commerce Department is collaborating with the Biden administration to create guidelines that would be applicable to the entire business in the interim, and they are anticipated to be formally unveiled next month.
Some predict that even US businesses utilising such chips won't be allowed to sell their products in China. These businesses include Super Micro Computer, HP, and Dell.
If this happens, China will have problems since, despite its manufacturing capacity and technological breakthroughs, not a single Chinese company possesses the skills or the equipment necessary to mass produce competitive modern chips. The USA, South Korea, and Taiwan are the three major players in this sector. So this ban may serve as a choke point for China.
The Biden office will look for support from its allies outside of the US in order to make the ban more effective.
