Lawmakers Say US Semiconductors Sometimes Used by Foreign Adversaries
WASHINGTON — A congressional panel juggled competing interests Thursday of trying to lead the world in industrial development without having the new technologies fall into the hands of foreign militaries that might want to harm the United States.
More than anything, lawmakers want more and better American-made semiconductors that operate as the brains for nearly anything computerized.
They don’t want the semiconductors implanted in hypersonic missiles aimed at the United States or in Iranian-manufactured drones that Russians use to hit targets in the Ukraine.
“We’re beyond the point of a wake-up call,” said Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Committee members questioned government officials who oversee export controls about what more can be done to stop arming the same militaries that might shoot at Americans.
“American adversaries use American technologies in their weapons and their surveillance systems,” McCaul said.
Many export controls are overseen by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which is led by Alan F. Estevez.
He told the committee that his agency is evolving from primarily monitoring exports used in various industries to increasingly managing national security risks.
The new emphasis is spurred by high-tech equipment that is becoming more sophisticated and deadly, he said. It includes artificial intelligence to detect weaknesses in U.S. defenses, internet networks that can be shut down through computer viruses and high-resolution surveillance that can spy on U.S. military assets.
Some of the surveillance equipment was found on a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, 2023, before being shot down by the U.S. Air Force off the coast of South Carolina.
Estevez described China and Russia as the greatest risks for adapting American technology to their military ventures.
Both of them have companies and other organizations listed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s “Entity List.”
The list consists of persons, companies and other organizations the U.S. government believes are engaged in “activities sanctioned by the State Department and activities contrary to U.S. national security and/or foreign policy interests.” Trade restrictions on dealing with them range from a complete ban to licensing requirements for specific exports or imports.
The “foreign policy interests” can be both military and touch on human rights violations.
China has 121 companies on the Entity List.
Estevez urged Congress not to retreat from keeping U.S. adversaries on the Entity List, saying removing them could generate worse dangers for national security.
“Showing that we will stand up to aggression is critically important,” Estevez said.
Other incentives to protect U.S. technology exports can be found in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
The act authorizes roughly $280 billion in new funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of U.S. semiconductors. It includes $2 billion for the Defense Department to fund microelectronics research, fabrication and workforce training.
An additional $500 million goes to the State Department to coordinate with foreign-government partners on semiconductor supply chain security.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., while agreeing export policy should protect national security, added, “We need both deterrence and diplomacy” to maintain peace.
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