US House China Panel Chairman Urges Tighter Curbs on Advanced Chip Exports to China

Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on China, urged the Trump administration to make sure semiconductor manufacturers do not supply advanced logic chips to Chinese companies.

Reuters reported on August 10 that Moolenaar is pressing the administration to enforce existing rules governing advanced chip export controls. He argued a gap emerged after President Donald Trump took office and did not implement restrictions drafted under the Biden administration to target Chinese front companies.

In January 2025, the Biden administration announced new rules requiring semiconductor foundries to closely scrutinize export orders for advanced chips. The measure was intended to address cases in which Chinese companies placed orders while posing as firms in Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore.

But after Trump took office, his administration decided not to enforce many Biden-era rules. As a result, the semiconductor export restrictions related to China were not carried out either.

The rule was a response to revelations that Sophgo, a Chinese chip design company, had chips manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., or TSMC. Those chips were later found inside an AI processor sold by Huawei Technologies Co. Huawei is under sweeping US sanctions.

Moolenaar called the measure "a critical step" to block China's access to advanced US chips and preserve America's technological edge, and urged the Commerce Department to put it into effect.

In a letter to Jeffrey Kessler, the Commerce Department official overseeing export controls, Moolenaar wrote that the foundry rule was created to close loopholes exploited by Huawei and Sophgo. If companies such as TSMC conclude the rule does not apply to them, "the risk of export-control failures like the Sophgo incident will increase dramatically," he wrote.

The push underscores growing concern in Congress, including among Republicans, that the Trump administration is taking a more lenient approach than the Biden administration on exports of advanced semiconductors to China.

In June, Republican Senator Jim Banks also co-wrote a letter urging the Trump administration to tighten restrictions on semiconductor foundries producing advanced AI chips for overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies.

Republican Representative Bill Huizenga raised similar concerns in July and sharply criticized the Commerce Department. Lawmakers in both parties also strongly condemned the Trump administration for allowing Nvidia to sell advanced chips to China earlier this year.

Kim Jung-a, guest reporter at Hankyung.com, kja@hankyung.com