In reaction to recent reports of a new Huawei smartphone with advanced capabilities, member of Congress are pushing the U.S. Commerce Department to tighten semiconductor export controls even further.

Last week, Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, urging the Biden Administration to tighten the export controls that restrict advanced semiconductors and equipment from being exported to China.

At the April 3 and 4, 2023 meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Goods, for which the minutes have now been circulated, a number of issues were raised by China in relation to other Members (including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and semiconductor subsidies/export controls), and

At a WTO meeting that was held on Thursday and Friday, governments raised concerns with Chinese export restrictions on semiconductor input materials, and China raised issues of its own with U.S./Japanese/Dutch semiconductor export restrictions and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM).

China's Ministry of Commerce and Customs agency jointly announced today that they will restrict exports of products and materials containing gallium and germanium, which are widely used to make semiconductors and electronics. The new rules become effective on August 1.

Today, the Dutch government announced new rules restricting exports of certain advanced semiconductor equipment, with Chinese semiconductor makers potentially hurt by the move.

China's Ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, recently talked about "new problems, new risks, and new challenges, especially the U.S. factor" in the bilateral relationship, and warned against a lose-lose situation, and letting the U.S. be the "sole winner."