Your Evening Briefing: Biden’s Chip Gambit May Be His Boldest China Salvo
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Joe Biden speaks before signing the Chips and Science Act of 2022 on Aug. 9. US semiconductor firms have announced billions of dollars in investments as the administration successfully helped push through a broad competition bill that included $52 billion in domestic semiconductor research and development.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergUS President Joe Biden’s new restrictions on technology exports to China could undercut that country’s ability to develop wide swaths of its economy, from semiconductors and supercomputers to surveillance systems and advanced weapons. The Commerce Department over the weekend unveiled sweeping regulations that limit the sale of semiconductors and chip-making equipment to Chinese customers, striking at the foundation of Beijing’s efforts to build its own chip industry. The Biden administration also added 31 organizations to its “unverified” list, including Yangtze Memory Technologies and a subsidiary of leading chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group, severely limiting their ability to buy tech from abroad. The moves are Biden’s most aggressive yet as he seeks to stop China from developing capabilities the White House sees as threatening the US economy and national security.
The biggest players in the $23.7 trillion US Treasuries market are in retreat. From Japanese pensions and life insurers to foreign governments and US commercial banks, where once they were lining up to get their hands on US government debt, most have now stepped away.