The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that the Commerce Department’s efforts to enforce bans and sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on Russia and China were “inadequate” largely due to a lack of funding. according to a Associated Press The report stated that the Bureau Safety The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which handles export controls and promotes U.S. technology, does not have the resources to effectively fulfill its mission and must rely on the companies it regulates to voluntarily comply with the restrictions.
The investigation follows several news reports about chips and other high-tech U.S. silicon chips. Found in Russian drone and missileand the country Chip imports worth approximately US$1.7 billion in 2023 Despite the sanctions.
The United States also strives to control exports to China Sanctioned company creates new entity Importing U.S. technology before they were banned. Even if specific advanced technologies, such as Nvidia H200 AI chips, impose a comprehensive export ban on China, recent news shows that Chinese entrepreneur somehow acquired 200 units Earlier this month, Nvidia launched its most powerful AI GPU.
Still, in response to the findings, Commerce Department spokesman Charlie Andrews said, “While the BIS’s budget has been stagnant for a decade, the bureau has worked hard around the clock to fulfill its mission and safeguard U.S. national security.
However, he added that more funding from Congress would help “better address the challenges posed by our changing national security environment.”
According to the Senate report, BIS has only 11 export control officials covering the world. That would make it nearly impossible for the agency to conduct end-use inspections or even physical verification of the small group of companies that order U.S. wafers. On top of that, the Commerce Department is severely short of the required number of China subject matter experts and Chinese speakers, which means it’s difficult for the Commerce Department to monitor who gets U.S. semiconductors.
The committee recommended that the Commerce Department receive additional funding to expand the Bank for International Settlements so that it can deploy more personnel to assist in enforcing export controls. It also recommended that penalties for companies violating sanctions must be higher, and that their export controls must be inspected by third parties, not just done in-house by the companies themselves.
However, even Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, Bans and Sanctions on China yes stupid errand. While these export controls will set back China’s progress by several years, domestic innovation will continue, especially as businesses and organizations find ways around these obstacles. Instead, she said the United States must invest heavily in semiconductor manufacturing and research and development to stay ahead.
Despite all these findings, impending changes in Washington create some uncertainty for the U.S. chip industry. Although the Chip and Science Act championed by the Biden administration has bipartisan support, President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly not happy with it.
Trump’s spokesman said he prefers tariffs and fewer regulations to direct financing and subsidies, and companies investing more than $1 billion in the U.S. economy may waive some regulations.