The Biden administration is planning to impose trade restrictions on Chinese chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies and 35 other companies from, China, according to CNET.
According to the report of the news outlet, as early as this week, all 36 companies will be added to the US Entity List.
Once added to the country's Entity List, the companies will be banned from conducting business transactions with US suppliers. This will continue unless they received a special export license from the Department of Commerce in the US.
US Targets Chinese Companies That Threaten its Security
The latest move of the Biden administration is part of the latest US effort to target Chinese companies that it believes provides a threat to its security, according to Financial Times.
Moreover, the move comes two months after the administration revealed harsh export controls that made it more difficult for China to acquire and at the same time, produce cutting-edge semiconductors.
Earlier this year, Financial Times reported that YMTC seemed to commit a violation of the US export controls by supplying Nand memory chips to Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei for its smartphones.
For months, lawmakers in the US lawmakers have been pressing the Biden administration to include the company on the Entity List.
Similarly, the lawmakers had also issued a warning to Apple that the tech company would possibly face harsh scrutiny if it will proceed with the plan to buy chips from YMTC.
When the export controls were introduced by the US on October 7, the country also put more than 30 Chinese companies, including YMTC, on the "unverified list" of entities.
They were put on the list because the US has been unable to conduct end-user checks to ensure that American technology is not being used for unauthorized uses.
During that time, companies are given a 60-day window to allow the US to conduct investigations. If not, the companies will face the threat of being on the entity list.
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Biden Administration Makes It Hard for China to Develop Technology With Military Applications
Putting the 36 companies in the Entity List is part of the US-China tech war, and this marks another escalation. The Biden administration is putting efforts to make it harder for China to develop technologies with military applications.
Such technologies include artificial intelligence, modeling for nuclear weapons as well as hypersonic weapons development.
As China comes under increasing pressure from the US and its allies, the country has also been trying to take steps in order to boost its indigenous technological capabilities.
Currently, the US is negotiating with Japan and the Netherlands on a trilateral deal in order to prevent chipmaking tool companies of the said countries from selling advanced equipment to China.
The Biden administration is hoping the accord will complement a ban that is similar to the American toolmakers that were included in the October 7 export controls.
Including YMTC and other companies in the Entity List comes in the wake of the first in-person meeting of President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, which was held last month.
While the two countries are attempting to prevent their relationship from deteriorating further, the Biden administration has stressed it is firm with it is policies concerning national security.
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