US rules trigger need to protect chips supply chain

The US is struggling to protect chips supply chain against consequences of its new export curbs on China’s chip industry because such consequences could harm the semiconductor supply chain.

Just hours before a new restriction became effective, South Korea’s chipmaker SK Hynix Inc announced it got authorization from the United States to receive goods for its chip production facilities in China without additional licensing imposed by the new rules.

Joe Biden’s administration planned to exempt foreign companies operating in China such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics from the new restrictions, but the rules published Friday have not actually exempted the said companies.

The rules require licenses before US exports can be shipped to facilities with advanced chip production in China as part of a US bid to slow China’s technological and military advances.