Tag: EAR

New Semiconductor Export Controls: Executive Briefing

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Anthony Rapa ●

On October 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) issued sweeping new export controls under the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) aiming to cut off support for China’s advanced computing and supercomputing capabilities, with the new controls targeting specified chips, chipmaking equipment, and related services.

The BIS rule, which runs over 100 pages, is the most significant expansion of semiconductor-related export controls in recent memory, if not the history of the EAR, and marks a decisive inflection point in the U.S. strategic competition with China. Companies in the semiconductor industry should gauge their exposure to China-related risk, which could be present in oblique and non-obvious ways, and service providers to the industry should assess their risk exposure in light of the rule’s provisions regarding U.S. person “support” for restricted activities.

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Westlaw Today: U.S. Commerce Department Issues Semiconductor-Related Export Controls

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Westlaw Today, October 7, 2022

Anthony Rapa and Matthew J. Thomas ●

On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an interim final rule imposing new export controls relating to certain semiconductor technology.

Specifically, the rule establishes a requirement under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to obtain a license from BIS before exporting to certain destinations the following materials and technologies:

      • Substrates of gallium oxide and diamond (ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors); and
      • Electronic Computer Aided Design (ECAD) software for the development of integrated circuits with Gate All-Around Field Effect Transistor (GAAFET) structures.

The control for the specified substrates is effective Aug. 15, 2022, while the control for the ECAD/GAAFET software is effective Oct. 14, 2022, with a comment period for industry that ran through Sept. 14, 2022.

The rulemaking follows public reports in July 2022 indicating that BIS had sent letters to chipmaking equipment manufacturers directing them not to export to China equipment capable of fabricating chips at 14 nanometers and below.

You can read more on our website.

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