US Senate leader seeks support to bar business with China semiconductor manufacturers

‘We need our government and our economy to rely on chips made right here in America’, says Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York

Amendment would limit federal procurement of products or services using chips produced by Chinese giants like SMIC and YMTC

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US Senator Chuck Schumer introduced the provision to the National Defence Authorisation Act in October. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:00am, 30 Nov 2022Updated: 12:36am, 1 Dec 2022

The US Senate’s top lawmaker called on his colleagues to support a bipartisan proposal that would prohibit the American government from dealing with companies that use semiconductors made by entities with links to the Communist Party of China.

“We need our government and our economy to rely on chips made right here in America,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, on Monday.

“If American business wants the federal government to buy their products or services, they shouldn’t be using the kind of Chinese-made chips that, because of Chinese government involvement, put our national security at risk”.

In October, Schumer, along with Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, introduced a provision to the National Defence Authorisation Act, congressional legislation passed every December outlining the US defence budget and policy.

The amendment proposes to limit federal procurement of products or services that use chips produced by Chinese companies identified by the Pentagon as Chinese military contractors. These include giants like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, ChangXin Memory Technologies, and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co.

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