U.S. lawmakers have asked leading semiconductor equipment production companies — Applied Materials, ASML KLA, LAM Research, and Tokyo Electron — for information about their sales to China, reports Reuters. The U.S. is about to impose new export regulations for high-tech devices to China, so the letter is timely.
Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, in a press release, said they sent letters to these firms to address concerns about maintaining U.S. competitiveness while limiting China’s access to advanced technology. On the one hand, the lawmakers want to assess how much Applied Materials, ASML KLA, LAM Research, and Tokyo Electron depend on their sales to Chinese entities. On the other hand, they want to assess how significantly this might impact the competitive advantages the U.S. currently has.
