A semiconductor industry group on Monday called for a review of the Trump administration's export control policy on China, saying that the administration's unilateral rules had unnecessarily hurt American industry.
In a letter to Gina Raimondo, secretary-designate of the U.S. Commerce Department, SEMI President Ajit Manocha criticized the Trump administration for implementing broad, ambiguous controls with little public input and no clear overarching policy, saying the "highly unusual process" resulted in unintended consequences.
SEMI represents semiconductor equipment makers and device manufacturers worldwide.
The letter urged the Commerce Secretary-designate to quickly correct an August rule that expanded U.S. authority over foreign company sales to China's Huawei, which unintentionally affected some foreign-made semiconductor production and test equipment.
"Unilateral U.S. controls over items for which there are comparable non-U.S.-origin items are generally ineffective in supporting national security goals and are likely to erode any technological advantages enjoyed by U.S.-origin items," Manocha wrote.
It also asked the Biden administration to promptly reduce the backlog of license applications, saying delays are de facto denials.
The letter also said rules that restricted sales to over 100 entities the United States linked to the Chinese military went into effect without industry comment, either before or after implementation.
Manocha said foreign competitors are increasingly marketing goods as "free from U.S. export controls."
"Over time, unilateral controls will stifle innovation in the U.S. by reducing the financial resources U.S. exporters need to perform R&D," he wrote.
The letter was copied to the new secretary of defense, national security adviser and secretary designates of the state, energy and treasury departments.
