Key facts
- Republican Congressman John Moolenaar urged the Trump administration to enforce a rule on advanced chip orders.
- The rule aims to prevent untrusted Chinese firms from accessing high-end U.S. chips.
- The measure was a response to Sophgo chips manufactured by TSMC being found in Huawei AI processors.
- Moolenaar warned of increased risk of export control failures if the rule is not enforced.
Republican Congressman John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, has called on the Trump administration to ensure that chip manufacturers do not supply advanced logic chips to untrusted Chinese firms. In a letter dated Thursday, Moolenaar urged the Commerce Department to enforce a new rule unveiled in January 2025. This rule requires chip manufacturers to scrutinize orders of advanced chips from companies that might be fronts for untrusted entities.
The measure was implemented following the discovery that Chinese chip designer Sophgo had its chips manufactured by TSMC, which were later found in AI processors marketed by Huawei, a company under heavy U.S. sanctions. Moolenaar described the rule as a critical step in preventing China from accessing high-end U.S. chips and preserving America's technological advantage.
Moolenaar warned that if chip factories like TSMC do not consider their products subject to these rules, it would significantly increase the risk of another export control failure similar to the Sophgo-Huawei incident. The letter highlights growing congressional concern, even among Republicans, regarding the Trump administration's perceived lenient approach to advanced chip exports to China. This follows similar calls from Republican Senator Jim Banks and criticism from Representative Bill Huizenga regarding chip contract manufacturing rules.