Comment by Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Department of Commerce

Throughout the Biden-Harris Administration, in coordination with U.S. allies and partners, BIS has taken novel approaches to address an ever-changing geopolitical and technological landscape and respond to increasingly sophisticated threat actors. All of the policy changes announced today are designed to limit the PRC’s ability to indigenize the production of advanced technologies – such as advanced-node integrated circuits and the equipment used to produce them – that pose a substantial risk to U.S. national security. The semiconductor manufacturing equipment controlled by today’s rules is needed to produce advanced-node integrated circuits, which are necessary for advanced weapon systems and advanced AI used in military applications. These actions serve two primary objectives: * Slowing the PRC’s development of advanced AI that has the potential to change the future of warfare; and * Impairing the PRC’s development of an indigenous semiconductor ecosystem – an ecosystem built at the expense of U.S. and allied national security. Unverified source (2024)