‘Enough is enough’: US indicts Chinese and Taiwanese firms for stealing trade secrets from Micron, in defence of tech companies
- ‘The department will aggressively pursue trade-secret theft cases,’ said US Attorney General Jeff Sessions
- He unveiled charges against Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co and United Microelectronics Corp
The US Justice Department has charged companies in China and Taiwan with stealing trade secrets from a US semiconductor company, as the government steps up efforts to combat what it contends is Chinese technology theft.
The Justice Department accused the defendants – the Chinese state-owned Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co, its Taiwanese partner United Microelectronics and three individuals – of stealing trade secrets from Micron Technology, America’s largest memory-chip maker, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday.
The trade secrets at stake are valued at up to US$8.75 billion, according to the indictment.
The charges come as the administration of President Donald Trump pursues what it says is the threat of Chinese economic and technology espionage. On Monday, the US Commerce Department said it would block Jinhua from buying American components because it posed a risk to national security.
Chinese economic espionage against the United States has been increasing – and it has been increasing rapidly. Enough is enough
A similar move was carried out in April, when Commerce blocked sales of American components to the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp. The penalty caused the company to close the majority of its operations within weeks.