Slashdot Mirror
US Bans Exports To Chinese DRAM Maker Citing National Security Risk (zdnet.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: The Trump administration on Monday announced it was banning U.S. exports to a Chinese semiconductor firm named Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company, citing national security concerns. In a statement released by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC), officials said the Chinese chipmaker posed "a significant risk of being or becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States." DoC officials are now barring US companies from selling any products to Fujian Jinhua, which was recently nearing completion of a new dynamic random access memory (DRAM) factory project. "When a foreign company engages in activity contrary to our national security interests, we will take strong action to protect our national security. Placing Jinhua on the Entity List will limit its ability to threaten the supply chain for essential components in our military systems," said Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce.
All rather rich coming from Wilber Ross former vice chair of the bank of cypress.
"Jinhua is nearing completion of substantial production capacity for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) integrated circuits. The additional production, in light of the likely U.S.-origin technology, threatens the long term economic viability of U.S. suppliers of these essential components of U.S. military systems."
If competition is now a national security issue what isn't? Is there any limit to what controls designed to prevent export of Nuclear and military technology be used for? I understand the Micron drama but it's an abuse to misuse export controls in this way for revenge.
Now that Bloomberg article makes sense: it was supposed to set the stage for this. The doubt thrown on it has made them walk back the rhetoric, so the 'national security' verbiage doesn't make so much sense any more. That said, aside from some novel rowhammer-style attack (was that ever fixed?), I can't see DRAM being a security problem. Reliability, yes, but not security.
In any case, the military will add it to their 'will not buy' list, just like other Chinese/Russian tech. Trying to impede the completion of the factory is unnecessary unless they think it'll produce relabeled counterfeits. Presumably, Chinese-made NAND isn't a problem? The NAND fab they're about to open is going to have 50% larger production than the world's current-largest NAND company, and that's going to cause prices to plummet fast.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
China has been exporting deflation to other countries by keeping prices low you idiot.
No Comma Faggot, is that you?!
You don't really understand the whole 'currency thing,' do you? The Chinese need to keep the value of their currency down if they want to keep their prices low (i.e stay competitive), not the other way around.