US chip measures against China not 'technology blockade': Sullivan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Jan 2024 09:20

The US National Security Advisor says Washington's measures don't seek to restrict broader trade and investment.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan addresses the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 16, 2024 (AFP)

The United States' restrictions on semiconductors to China are not a "technology blockade", National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan claimed on Tuesday.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sullivan said that "these tailored measures are not a technology blockade. They do not seek to, nor in fact, do they, restrict broader trade and investment."

This comes after Bloomberg reported earlier this month that US President Joe Biden's administration urged ASML, the largest Dutch semiconductor producer, to prohibit shipments of sophisticated equipment to China.

Sullivan personally called the Dutch government late in 2023 to discuss supply deliveries to China, especially those supplied by ASML, which specializes in producing the Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines that manufacture the chips.

His call, which was rerouted to ASML, resulted in the cancellation of a limited number of machine shipments to the Asian giant, the news site added.

US curbs on chips had a "broad carve-out for commercial chips, the kind of chips that can help power economic progress," the NSA continued from the WEF.

"Simply put, our strategic competitors should not be able to exploit American technologies to undermine our national security or that of our allies and partners."

In October 2022, the US Department of Commerce introduced sanctions on China, putting hurdles in Beijing's way to buy or develop advanced semiconductors.

China has filed a case with the World Trade Organization (WTO), hitting back at US export sanctions on microchips, further fueling the tech war between the two countries.