U.S. lawmakers eye MATCH Act

U.S. lawmakers have introduced bipartisan bills that would lock tougher chip-tool export curbs into law instead of leaving them to Commerce Department case-by-case decisions. (congress.gov 1) (congress.gov 2) The House bill, H.R. 8170, was introduced on April 2 by Rep. Michael Baumgartner and 10 cosponsors from both parties, then sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee the same day. A Senate companion, S. 4281, was introduced on April 13 by Sens. Pete Ricketts, Andy Kim, Jim Risch and Chuck Schumer and referred to the Banking Committee. (congress.gov 1) (congress.gov 2) The bill’s short title is the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act, or MATCH Act. Its text says export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment are among the United States’ “most effective defenses” in keeping advanced chipmaking tools away from China-linked firms. (congress.gov 1) (congress.gov 2) Chipmaking tools are the machines that print, coat, etch and clean patterns on silicon wafers. Lithography systems are the best-known example: they work like extremely precise projectors, and deep-ultraviolet, or DUV, tools are older-generation machines still widely used for memory chips and many logic chips. (asml.com) (tomshardware.com) That matters because the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has tightened China chip controls through administrative rules since October 7, 2022, and updated them again in October 2023. Rules can be revised, narrowed or waived by future administrations; a statute is harder to unwind. (bis.doc.gov) (congress.gov) The House bill names a long list of Chinese companies it says are helping build advanced chip capacity, including ChangXin Memory Technologies, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, Yangtze Memory Technologies, Huawei, Naura, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China and Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment, or SMEE. The Senate text names a shorter set, including CXMT, SMIC, YMTC and Huawei. (congress.gov) (congress.gov) Reuters reported on April 22 that Micron Technology has been lobbying Congress to tighten restrictions on sales of U.S. chipmaking equipment to Chinese rivals, pushing for limits that would reach some DUV lithography tools. Reuters said the effort could shift export controls from a diplomatic tool into a more durable form of industrial policy. (reuters.com) Tom’s Hardware reported on April 17 that lawmakers revised the MATCH Act after industry pushback, removing a blanket countrywide ban for some cryogenic etching tools while keeping the broader effort to codify tougher controls. That change showed Congress is still negotiating where to draw the line between denying China advanced manufacturing gear and preserving room for narrower licensing decisions. (tomshardware.com) (tomshardware.com) ASML, the Dutch company that dominates lithography, said in its 2024 annual report that China accounted for 36% of net system sales in 2024, underscoring how much business is tied to these controls. The company also said growth in 2024 was helped by higher DUV immersion shipments. (asml.com) (ourbrand.asml.com) The bills are still at the introduction stage, with no committee votes yet listed on Congress.gov. But by moving the fight from agency rulemaking to statute, lawmakers are signaling that chip-tool restrictions on China are becoming a standing feature of U.S. trade and security policy, not just a Commerce Department program. (congress.gov) (congress.gov)