Congressman John Moolenaar Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP | Official Website
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast have sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, urging closer collaboration with international partners to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
The letter, also signed by House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Ranking Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove, and Congressmen Greg Stanton, Michael Baumgartner, and Johnny Olszewski, highlights bipartisan concern over gaps in the current export control system for chipmaking tools.
"Export controls on SME represent one of America's most significant points of leverage in our strategic competition with the People's Republic of China. These tools are essential not only for producing the advanced AI chips that will shape the future of both economic and military power, but also for manufacturing the legacy chips that go into PLA weapons systems and intelligence platforms. Maintaining restrictions on this equipment is critical to U.S. national security," the letter states.
The signatories note that past efforts under both Republican and Democratic administrations have aimed to restrict exports of key chipmaking technology to China. The Trump administration pushed for Dutch restrictions on extreme ultraviolet lithography tools exports to China. The Biden administration expanded controls further and encouraged allied nations to adopt similar measures.
Despite these steps, the lawmakers express concern about ongoing loopholes. "Of particular concern, certain foreign-produced chokepoint SME is controlled only for certain specified entities in China, rather than on a countrywide basis. This matters because once equipment crosses the border into China, the U.S. government has extremely limited ability to enforce end-use and end-user restrictions," they write.
Recent findings from congressional reports indicate an increase in China's imports of foreign-made advanced lithography equipment between 2022 and 2024. According to reporting cited in the letter, Chinese firms may be upgrading imported tools beyond export control thresholds.
Additionally, lawmakers warn that China is seeking to develop its own semiconductor manufacturing equipment by using U.S.-made subcomponents such as electrostatic chucks. If unchecked, this could allow China to bypass current export controls altogether.
The letter calls for stronger diplomatic engagement with allies and urges setting clear expectations and deadlines for implementing countrywide controls on key semiconductor manufacturing equipment and components destined for China. "We urge the Administration to press allies to implement countrywide controls on key chokepoint semiconductor manufacturing equipment and subcomponents: that is, all equipment and subcomponents that China cannot produce indigenously," it says.
The lawmakers request a briefing within a month regarding the administration's strategy for securing allied cooperation on these controls.
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party reviews economic and security challenges posed by China while developing policy recommendations through hearings and reports (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/). It operates as a bipartisan committee within the U.S. House of Representatives (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/) with a focus on technology rivalry, supply chain stability, national security threats, innovation protection strategies, legislative proposals enhancing U.S. competitiveness against China (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/), and fostering coordinated governmental responses (https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/).
