US lawmakers have scaled back a proposed bill targeting China’s access to semiconductor equipment, while retaining key restrictions on advanced lithography tools, according to a revised draft seen on 16 April.
According to Reuters, the updated version of the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware Act, or MATCH Act, removes several sweeping measures that had alarmed industry participants when first introduced in early April. The bill is scheduled for consideration by the House Foreign Affairs Committee next week as part of a broader package of technology and export control legislation.
The revised proposal still introduces a nationwide restriction on deep ultraviolet immersion lithography machines produced by ASML, a dominant supplier of the technology. The company declined to comment on the changes.
Republican representative Michael Baumgartner, who introduced the bill on 2 April, has put forward the latest version as a substitute for the original draft. The legislation aims to close gaps in export controls and align US policy with allies including Japan and the Netherlands to maintain leadership in artificial intelligence technologies.
Earlier provisions that imposed broad countrywide restrictions on certain chipmaking tools, including cryogenic etching equipment produced by Lam Research and Tokyo Electron, have been removed. Industry groups had warned that such measures could significantly reduce exports and disrupt global supply chains.
The narrower bill continues to prohibit foreign firms from supplying equipment to Chinese chipmakers ChangXin Memory Technologies, Yangtze Memory Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation for facilities restricted from using US technology. It also requires licences for servicing equipment at those sites, although applications will no longer face an automatic rejection policy.
The US has sought since 2022 to coordinate export controls with allied countries, with mixed success. The revised bill sets a deadline for further negotiations before allowing Washington to impose unilateral measures if alignment is not achieved.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said China would monitor developments and respond accordingly, stating that “China opposes the US’s overstretching the national security concept and using all sorts of pretexts to coerce other countries into joining its technological blockade against China”.
Separately, a US congressional investigation published on 16 April found China continues to acquire advanced semiconductor capabilities through both legal procurement and illicit means, reinforcing calls among lawmakers to tighten export controls and protect critical technology supply chains.
