Rubio Demands Safeguards Against China Acquiring American Chip Tech

China has stopped at nothing in stealing American chips and semiconductor technology, which the Biden Administration needs to prepare to counter. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote a recent letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo demanding safeguards against this theft, saying, "If you are serious about protecting American technology, the only effective solution is for BIS to aggressively deny licenses that would permit the export of advanced semiconductors to any entity that is based in the PRC."

Sen. Rubio's letter highlighted various reports demonstrating the efficiency and ruthlessness of the Chinese in stealing American semiconductors. The Wall Street Journal detailed the smuggling of Nvidia chips via proxies and third-party sellers to China on the black market, bypassing restrictions put in place by the Biden Administration, also covered by the New York Times.

"Many of these entities can reportedly acquire dozens of advanced chips every month via third party vendors, and are reliable enough to offer preorder options to their customers weeks in advance. Concerningly, when the Journal requested a comment from the Department of Commerce, your agency failed to respond to the inquiry," Sen. Rubio's letter pointed out.

Moreover, the Florida Senator suggested the Bureau of Industry and Services (BIS) has failed to live up to the Biden Administration's rhetoric about preventing China from accessing technology such as semiconductors and chips for developing artificial intelligence (AI), which he suggested could be the result of "a problematic and deep-seated belief among bureaucrats that increased trade, of any kind, is universally good for American interests. It is your responsibility to change that culture."

As a result, Rubio called for more robust measures to prevent China from accessing American tech, namely "to aggressively deny licenses that would permit the export of advanced semiconductors to any entity that is based in the [People's Republic of China]."

On X (formerly Twitter), Rubio announced the letter: "The Biden-Harris Administration has failed to keep U.S. chip technology from falling into the hands of Communist China. Sent a letter to @SecRaimondo regarding this failure to protect critical technology from our largest adversary."