MATCH Act targets semiconductors

Lawmakers in both parties have introduced the MATCH Act to make it harder for China to buy, service, or build with advanced chipmaking tools. (congress.gov) The House bill, H.R. 8170, was introduced on April 2 by Representative Michael Baumgartner, a Washington Republican, with 10 original cosponsors from both parties. Senators Jim Risch, Pete Ricketts, Andy Kim, and Chuck Schumer introduced the Senate version on April 8. (congress.gov) (foreign.senate.gov) The bill targets semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the machines used to print and carve circuits onto wafers so chips can be made. Sponsors said the proposal would close “servicing and entity-specific loopholes” and stop adversaries from buying “chokepoint” tools they cannot make themselves. (foreign.senate.gov) Sponsors said the bill gives U.S. allies 150 days to show progress toward matching American controls. If that does not happen, the measure would let the Commerce Department extend restrictions to some foreign-made equipment that uses U.S. software, technology, or components through the Foreign Direct Product Rule. (foreign.senate.gov) (baumgartner.house.gov) That matters because the United States has spent years trying to slow China’s access to advanced semiconductors and the tools needed to make them. A 2025 Congressional Research Service report said Washington’s controls since 2018 have aimed both to restrict China’s access to advanced chips and to slow its ability to build a self-sufficient chip sector. (congress.gov) The bill also reflects a practical problem in the supply chain: key chipmaking tools are not made only in the United States. Reuters reported the proposal would reach for tighter limits on equipment sold by allied-country suppliers, including deep ultraviolet immersion lithography machines associated with the Dutch company ASML, as Washington presses the Netherlands and Japan to align more closely. (money.usnews.com) The House text says current export-control gaps are being exploited and names a list of Chinese companies, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation, Huawei, and ChangXin Memory Technologies. The bill’s findings say those firms warrant broader controls to keep them from accessing items made with U.S. technologies. (congress.gov) Supporters say the measure would “level the playing field” for U.S. companies because American firms already face tighter rules than some overseas rivals. Baumgartner said allies have not fully matched U.S. restrictions, while Ricketts said the current system leaves U.S. companies “last.” (baumgartner.house.gov) (foreign.senate.gov) Critics of tighter controls have argued in the broader export-control debate that more restrictions can push China to speed up domestic substitutes and can also cut sales for foreign and U.S. suppliers. The Congressional Research Service said some stakeholders favor looser rules to preserve competitiveness, while others warn that loosening controls would give up U.S. advantages. (congress.gov) For now, the MATCH Act is a proposal, not law. Its next test is whether Congress moves it out of committee and whether the White House and U.S. allies are willing to turn its 150-day threat into actual export restrictions. (congress.gov) (foreign.senate.gov)