Pressure Mounts On US To Blacklist This Top Chinese Chipmaker

Top U.S. lawmakers urged the Biden administration to blacklist Chinese semiconductor company Yangtze Memory Technologies Co for allegedly violating export controls by supplying Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd.

YMTC violated the U.S. Foreign Direct Product Rule that prohibited companies from supplying Huawei with America-made technology

As per the lawmakers, YMTC has provided Nand memory chips for Huawei's new flagship foldable phone Mate Xs 2, the Financial Times reported citing I.P. Research Group.

Also Read: Chip Wreck Ahead? Biden Administration Said To Be Mulling More Curbs On Semiconductor, Tool Exports To China

YMTC is one of many Chinese technology companies to draw U.S. scrutiny over security concerns. 

In 2019, the U.S. added Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd to a list of companies that U.S. firms can no longer trade with without a license citing national security risks. The "entity list" banned the company from acquiring technology from U.S. firms without government approval.

The U.S. also implemented various measures to boost the U.S. chip industry while crippling China's access to technology, particularly for cutting-edge chips. 

Recently U.S. restricted sales of high-performance A.I. Nvidia Corp NVDA chips for servers, the A100 and H100, to China and Russia. 

U.S. lawmakers also feared that YMTC could dump its more advanced chips at below-market prices, putting pressure on U.S., European, and Asian manufacturers. 

U.S. lawmakers also pressurized Apple Inc AAPL after disclosing plans to procure memory chips from the YMTC.

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