Overview
- Commerce Department letters told Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA to stop certain chipmaking tool shipments to Hua Hong and its Huali unit.
- The restrictions cover equipment and materials bound for Hua Hong facilities that U.S. officials believe will produce China’s most advanced chips.
- Reuters earlier reported that Huali was preparing a 7‑nanometer process in Shanghai, a leading‑edge node used for AI chips that in China has largely been limited to SMIC.
- Industry sources say U.S. equipment suppliers could lose billions of dollars in sales, with the sharpest impact where plants are under construction or being retooled for newer processes.
- The move continues years of U.S. export controls and could strain ties before a planned May meeting between President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping.