Page 1 GAO-25-107386 Advanced Semiconductor Export Controls
Semiconductors, or chips, are generally smaller than a postage stamp and are
composed of billions of components that store, move, and process data. More
advanced semiconductors have various applications, such as for artificial
intelligence (AI), communications products, medical devices, and weapons.
Semiconductor shortages during the pandemic affected many industries and
raised concerns about U.S. capacity to produce advanced semiconductors
domestically. Congress enacted the CHIPS Act of 2022, appropriating more than
$50 billion over 6 years to bolster domestic semiconductor research and
development and manufacturing. The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of
Industry and Security (BIS) reported that this legislation promotes U.S. and allied
country technology leadership in semiconductors. BIS also reported its export
controls restrict the People's Republic of China (PRC) access to key technologies
to address national security and foreign policy concerns. Together, these
incentives and restrictions create the most comprehensive and effective policy for
protecting national security and foreign policy interests while promoting U.S.
leadership in semiconductors, according to BIS.
BIS took steps to help address these concerns, including by issuing three rules in
October 2022 and October 2023 restricting the export of advanced
semiconductors and their manufacturing equipment. We were asked to report on
BIS’s development and implementation of the three rules (BIS issued other rules,
but throughout this report we will refer to these three rules as the three key
rules), as well as what is known about private sector compliance efforts. We
provide information in this report on the development and implementation steps
BIS has taken and plans to take. We also provide information on compliance
steps companies have taken regarding the rules and challenges they have
reported encountering. Furthermore, we describe steps BIS has taken to address
these challenges.
• BIS has issued three key rules. BIS published the first rule in 2022 on
controlling exports of advanced semiconductors and semiconductor
manufacturing equipment. BIS issued two additional rules in 2023 that
revised the controls of the 2022 rule. In 2024, it updated the technical
specifications of items the rules controlled.
• According to BIS, to avoid stockpiling of controlled items and for other
national security or foreign policy concerns, BIS published these three rules
as “interim final” rules, enabling it to enforce the rules before the end of a
public comment period.
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Export Controls: Commerce Implemented
Advanced Semiconductor Rules and
Took
Steps to Address Compliance Challenges
-25-107386
Report to Congressional Requesters
, 2024
