As the U.S. continues to expand its chip export controls, South Korean and other multinational firms with semiconductor investments in China “face an uncertain future,” the Peterson Institute for International Economics said in a report this week. The report, authored by PIIE senior fellow Martin Chorzempa, outlines both the “collateral damage and new opportunities” for South Korean companies as a result of the Commerce Department's Oct. 7 controls (see 2210070049), saying Korean firms “have been some of the most impacted non-Chinese firms due to their large memory chip production facilities in China.” The report also recommends the U.S. do more to “reduce uncertainty” for allies operating in the region.
Exports to China
The EU on July 4 imposed antidumping duties on stainless steel refillable kegs from China for five years, the European Commission announced that day. The duties range from 62.6% to 69.6% and follow an investigation that found the kegs were being dumped into the bloc. "The measures will help to ensure that the EU keg industry, which employs 500 people, can compete on an equal footing with keg imports from China," the commission said.
China implemented export restrictions on gallium- and germanium-related items, which are used to make semiconductors and other key technology, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced, according to an unofficial translation. The restrictions will start Aug. 1 and are to protect China's national security, the ministry said. China is the top producer of the two metals, which are also used in solar panels, lasers and night-vision goggles. Gallium and germanium exporters will be required to apply for a license and report on their international buyers.
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House lawmakers submitted a host of proposed export control- and sanctions-related amendments as part of the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, including measures that could ease defense technology sharing restrictions, harmonize the Entity List with certain U.S. sanctions and investment restrictions and place new export control requirements on items destined to China and Iran. Other amendments could lead to new sanctions on Chinese technology companies and government officials, add the USDA to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., establish a new sanctions coordination office in the State Department and more.
Several recent applications of Italy’s foreign direct investment regime “appear to be the bellwether” for how the new government plans to approach future FDI reviews, Cleary Gottlieb said in a June 30 client alert.
China last week issued a new “foreign relations law” that could bolster the country’s ability to respond to foreign trade restrictions, including sanctions. The law, adopted by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress and effective July 1, says that China can take “law enforcement and judicial measures” to protect its national interests and those of its companies against restrictions imposed by other countries, and “has the right to take corresponding countermeasures and restrictive measures,” according to an unofficial translation of the document. The law specifically authorizes China to use “legislation, law enforcement, and judicial means to fight against acts of containment, interference, sanctions, and sabotage.”
The U.S. is “overstretching the national security concept” and “abusing export control tools,” a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry told reporters June 30, according to a transcript in English of the regular press conference where the comment was made. The spokesperson, asked about recent steps taken by the Netherlands to restrict exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment (see 2306300028) and potential future controls imposed by the Biden administration (see 2306290048), said the U.S. is “using all sorts of pretexts to cajole or coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China.” The country will “closely monitor relevant developments and firmly defend our lawful rights and interests.”
The Netherlands last week published new export controls over certain advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment in a step aimed at bringing Dutch policies more closely in line with strict U.S. export licensing requirements against China. The measures, previewed by the government in March (see 2303090032), take effect Sept. 1 and will require exporters to apply for and receive an authorization before shipping a “number of very specific technologies for the development and manufacture of advanced semiconductors.”
The Biden administration is still considering a range of “very technical questions” on its upcoming outbound investment restrictions, which is partly why the rules haven’t yet been released, said Mike Pyle, deputy national security adviser for international economics. He said officials are still working through how to define the types of technologies that would be captured by the program and the types of investments that would be screened, and are still speaking with industry about how to best scope the restrictions.