The United States officially hit China’s largest chip maker, SMIC, with sanctions

Another Chinese company was targeted by the Trump administration: this time, the country’s largest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC). And most likely their fate will be similar to what Huawei is facing today.

According to a report on Friday of the Financial Times, the US Commerce Department said that US companies in the chip industry will be restricted from exporting to SMIC. Companies must obtain permits from the government to sell their products, for example software or chip-making equipment, to SMIC.

In a letter to US companies, the US Commerce Department said it introduced these restrictions on SMIC because it was concerned that it was posing “unacceptable risks” to SMIC. the ability to use their products for military purposes, when possible technological advances to the Chinese military.

Even so, SMIC has yet to be placed on the Entity List as Huawei is facing. Therefore, obtaining an export license for SMIC will not be as difficult as it is in Huawei’s case.

The new US Commerce Department restrictions are another blow to SMIC, which has been hit hard by sanctions aimed at Huawei. With Huawei being sanctioned, SMIC and many other companies also restrict sales to the Chinese technology company by becoming the next subject to be punished by the US government.

See Gizmodo