Overview
- Committee chairs John Moolenaar and Brian Mast led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seeking nationwide restrictions on chokepoint semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
- The request targets tools and subcomponents that China cannot produce domestically, moving beyond entity-specific controls viewed as insufficient for national security.
- Signatories, including Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, also pressed for limits on servicing and maintenance of equipment operating in Chinese fabs.
- The letter urges a strategy to align allies on broad controls, with a fallback to restrict use of U.S.-origin components in foreign-made tools bound for China if partners do not cooperate.
- Lawmakers cited surging Dutch sales of advanced ASML lithography gear to China from 2022 through 2024 and referenced reports of a Chinese EUV prototype to underscore the urgency.