U.S. Government Indicts Chinese DRAM Maker JHICC on Industrial Espionage; Bans Exports To Firm
The U.S. Department of Commerce [DoC] this week banned U.S. exports to a China-based maker of DRAM. The DoC believes that Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Company (also known as Fujian or JHICC) not only uses technologies obtained from Micron, but also threatens the latter's long-term economic viability and therefore could also be involved in activities that are contrary to the U.S. national security interests.
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Justice [DoJ] has also filed an indictment against JHICC, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), and several individuals accusing them of corporate espionage and stealing IP from Micron. Between the two, the U.S. authorities essentially sided with claims that Chinese makers of memory have illegally obtained IP and technologies from DRAM makers from the U.S. and potentially other countries.
As a result of DoC actions against JHICC, all U.S.-based (and, actually, non-U.S.-based too) companies will require a special license for all exports, re-exports, and transfers of commodities, software and technology subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). DoC makes no secret that such license applications will be "reviewed with a presumption of denial", so it will be tremendously hard for JHICC to obtain practically everything, including Windows 7 licenses for manufacturing equipment and production tools themselves (ASML has a strong presence in the U.S., whereas Nikon Precision is based in California). Meanwhile, the whole situation is somewhat more complex.
Related: Tsinghua to Build $30 Billion DRAM/NAND Fabrication Plant in Nanjing, China
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @08:27PM (1 child)
Where does the corporation end and the government begin? Very hard to tell!
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday November 02 2018, @08:37PM
There is no line of separation.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex